


Out of Step

by BecomingButterflies



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Kwami Swap, aged-up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 17:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12845748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BecomingButterflies/pseuds/BecomingButterflies
Summary: Adrien and Marinette grew up as best friends. When Papillon appears in Paris, they’re responsible for stopping him. Adrien becomes Coccinelle while Marinette becomes Chat, but Marinette struggles to handle the power of her Miraculous. Adrien fights to understand what is happening to his best friend while his superhero partner is also struggling with her powers.





	1. Warm Up

**Author's Note:**

> I’m so excited to finally share this fic! I had so much fun and I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> My wonderful responders made some amazing art you should totally check out:  
> [alazic02](http://alazic02.tumblr.com/tagged/mbb2k17)  
> [runningandnotslowingdown](http://runningandnotslowingdown.tumblr.com/tagged/mbb2k17)
> 
> Also, a big thank you to my betas for making sure this piece was ready-to-read:  
> [unecoccinelle](http://unecoccinelle.tumblr.com/)  
> [australianotaku](http://australianotaku.tumblr.com)

Adrien was a morning person, but that didn’t make waking up any easier.

No, when his alarm went off that morning, he tried in vain to ignore it. He mostly succeeded, until someone called him, and that was twice as loud. Groaning, he sat up and fumbled for his phone, answering the call.

“Hello?”

“You sound just as tired as I feel,” Marinette said warmly, following it with a timely yawn. “I wanted to make sure you got up and actually got to school on time.”

“What does it matter if I’m on time? It’s the first day. No one cares about the first day.” Adrien pushed his hair out of his face, trying to wake himself up.

“Well, if supermodel Adrien, son of Gabriel Agreste, can show up late, the rest of us shouldn’t have to be on time either, should we?”

Adrien swung his legs out of bed, smiling. Marinette had played this card many times before. “Ah, but I’m a good supermodel, not a good role model. It’s not my fault I’m famous.”

“Whatever. You still have to be on time like the rest of us.”

Adrien made his way to his bathroom, rolling his eyes. “Well, if I’m going to be on time I need to take a shower, and I can’t do that while I’m on the phone.”

“I see how it is.” Marinette was probably sticking out her tongue—Adrien could almost see her. “You’ll be by my place before eight?”

“Yep. Ask Tom to save me something for breakfast.” Adrien grabbed a towel and a change of clothes as he went into the bathroom.

“You have a chef, and you need my family to feed you?”

“Your family has better croissants.”

“Fair enough. I’ll see if we can spare anything.” Marinette giggled. “See you later.”

“Bye.” Adrien set his phone down on the counter, smiling. Although he’d been homeschooled for a few years when he was younger, Marinette’s parents had convinced his father to let him to go to public school with Marinette. They’d finished primary school together, gone through college, and now they were entering their second year of lycee, premiere. Two more years together, and then they were off to université. Marinette wanted to go to design school; she always had, and Adrien knew she’d go far. He was going into business school, and he would probably end up working for Gabriel and helping run the company. He didn’t really want to keep working with his father, but he liked numbers and business and he figured it would at least start him off.

Adrien shook his head, focusing. He still had to go to school. He went through his normal routine—shower, get dressed, fix his hair—and then grabbed his bag and slipped on his shoes before heading downstairs. Nathalie’s office was his first stop; she went over his schedule for the day, made sure his phone calendar was up to date, and sent him off. He was early still, so he stopped by his father’s office, knocking first.

“Father?”

“Come in, Adrien,” Gabriel said softly from inside, and as Adrien walked in, his father set down a pen and looked up.

“I’m heading off to school,” Adrien said. “I’m stopping by Marinette’s on the way, like usual.”

“Good. Will you be at your normal café after school?”

“I haven’t talked to her yet, but we’ll probably be there.” Adrien shrugged. “We’ll probably stay wherever we go for a little while to do homework.”

“Alright. Be sure you’re home in time for dinner. Nathalie told you the trainer isn’t coming in today?” Gabriel shuffled some papers on his desk, looking for something.

“Yeah. I was gonna do the normal routine. It’s not a big deal.” The personal trainer normally came three times a week for Adrien, but after having worked with him for two years, Adrien was capable of working out on his own. He did so the other days of the week, anyways.

“Good. I’ll see you tonight, then.” Gabriel smiled. “Work hard at school. Don’t start off the year weak.”

“I know, Father, I’ll do my best.”

“Your mother would be so proud of you,” Gabriel said, almost as an afterthought. “You’ve grown so much, Adrien. If only she could see you now.”

“Yeah. I miss her, too.” Adrien smiled. “I’ll see you later.” Adrien adjusted his bag over his shoulder as he left the office, quietly shutting the door behind him and then leaving the house. A year ago, a bodyguard would have come with him, but Adrien had convinced his father that was unnecessary. He was capable of protecting himself, and besides, who was going to attack him?

Not that he could blame Gabriel for worrying—not after his wife disappeared. Adrien had stopped entertaining hopes that she’d come back after the first year, and while he still wished she’d return, he knew it wasn't likely. They didn’t know what happened to his mom. She was just...gone. It hurt, but he also had Marinette and her parents to help him through. After his mother’s disappearance, Sabine and Tom had all but adopted him. They took him in for a few months when being in his home became too lonely and offered refuge and support whenever he needed it. Marinette had been by his side the whole time, too, and she never left. If anything was the same as it had been before the disappearance, it was Marinette, and Adrien was beyond grateful for his best friend.

The walk to her home was short, which made hanging out all the easier and getting pastries that much quicker. He stepped into the bakery, waving at Sabine.

“Hello, Adrien. Excited for school?” Sabine smiled, reaching behind her for a plate and holding it up for the boy.

“I am.” Adrien came up to the counter to grab the plate, smiling at the croissants Sabine had saved him. “Thanks, Sabine. These look great.”

“I saved the best ones for you.” Sabine patted his hand. “It’s the least we can do for you. Since you mentioned us in that interview for Marie Claire Idées, we’ve been running out of room in the bakery.” She gestured at the full tables behind Adrien.

“I meant every word I said. This is the best bakery in Paris.” Adrien smiled. “I’m glad to do what I can.”

“Well, we certainly appreciate it.” Sabine tapped Adrien’s plate. “Eat up, now. And Marinette should be upstairs as well. She was in the kitchen last I saw her.”

“Thanks.” Adrien ate his croissants as he walked through the bakery and up into the rest of the house, finding Marinette sitting at the kitchen counter and absentmindedly eating an apple while scrolling on her phone.

“Hey, Mari,” he said, sliding into the seat next to her and setting his plate down. He dropped his bag on the floor. “You ready for school?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Marinette smiled at him, then turned off her phone and put it in her pocket. “You ready for your bac? Technological sciences of management?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Adrien took another bite of his croissant as he rolled his eyes. “Not that I hate business,” he said around his food, “but it’s the beginning of a lot of work.” Normally, Adrien didn’t talk with his mouth full, because with his luck a photographer would be nearby. But the Dupain-Cheng household was safe. Marinette was safe. He was a normal person around them, and it was an amazing break from reality.

“Right. You’ve got to do prépa and then go to some crazy big school.”

“You mean I suffer for at least two years in prépa until I literally go crazy, and then go to HEC and suffer three more years, the last of which is in English and probably also Chinese?” Adrien smiled drily. “Ah, yes, I can’t wait.”

“You’ll do fine. You’re smart.” Marinette placed a hand on her chest, sighing dramatically. “Oh, Adrien Agreste, he’s got beauty and brains. What have we done to deserve him in this world.”

“That would be funnier if it wasn’t something people actually said.” Adrien took another bite of his croissant. “I forgot to mention somehow keeping up my modeling career throughout all of this so as not to upset my father.”

“You’re going to spend your whole life trying not to upset Gabriel. You could skip prépa and get a BBA, and get out with both a degree and a soul.” Marinette stood to throw her apple core away, patting Adrien’s shoulder as she passed him.

“I wish. Gabriel wants me to study traditionally. A BBA would probably make more sense, to be honest, but I am an Agreste and as such I should only attend prestigious schools such as Emylon or HEC and go into the prestigious Grand Ecole programs. No, a BBA is too low for me.” Adrien rested his chin in his hand, eating the last of his croissant.

Marinette picked up his plate, bringing it over to the sink to wash it off. “You’ll be fine. One step at a time, right? All you’ve got to worry about now is your bac.” She smiled.

“You’re right.” Adrien stood, picking up his bag and Marinette’s. “We should head out soon, though. I’m a famous supermodel. I can’t be late.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Marinette took her bag from him, rolling her eyes at his mention of their morning conversation. “Let’s go. Maybe we can sneak some more pastries for a snack during school.”

 

Adrien glanced at his watch as he walked out of school. It had been a relatively easy day, but he already had homework. Marinette wouldn’t be out for another half hour, but he decided regardless to go to their cafe and wait for her.

Their café was only a few minutes from the school. He sat in a table on the sidewalk, setting his backpack in the other chair to keep it for Marinette. He pulled out a notebook and his pens and began rewriting notes from his French class so they were both legible and color-coordinated. When he finished those, he moved onto his English notes, which gave him a headache. He wasn’t as good at learning languages as he was at processing numbers and formulas.

“Are those your English notes?” Marinette said from over his shoulder, looking at his paper. She began speaking in English. “Class was so boring today. I hope the teacher isn’t always so dull.”

“You’d know better than I. I could barely follow what she was saying,” Adrien replied in French. He smiled at her as she sat across from him. “I’ll give you my maths notes if you give me your English.”

“Deal. You’re so much more organized than me.” Marinette picked up the menu and turned through the pages. Adrien was pretty sure she had it memorized after the years they’d been coming here, but she still looked at it every day. “Did you order anything yet?”

“No. I was so enthralled in conjugating English verbs that I wasn’t concerned with physical drawbacks such as hunger.” Adrien raised an eyebrow, and Marinette giggled in response.

“Well, if you don’t mind me reminding you that you are a human who has to eat sometimes, I’m going to order some snacks.” Marinette waved the waiter over. She ordered hot chocolate and croissants for both of them, then reached in her bag for her school work. “Okay, here are my English notes. They’re not color coded the way you like them, but you’ll figure it out.” She slid her papers across the table so Adrien could see.

“You know, one day you’ll appreciate my color coding. It’s very helpful when it comes time to study for the tests.” Adrien glanced at the notes, then pulled his phone out to take a picture. He’d have to copy them down for himself later so they’d be more organized. Marinette definitely had thorough notes, but she jumped all over the place when she wrote them down.

“I do appreciate your organization, but only during cram time the night before the test,” Marinette clarified, smiling. “You’re already famous, but I’m pretty sure you’re everyone’s favorite come exams.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed.” Adrien passed Marinette’s notes back. “So, how were your classes today?”

“Oh, they were great. I didn’t get to really do much, but I can’t wait for the rest of the year. I feel bad for you with all your boring maths classes; I really do. How were those?”

“Not terrible, but it’s only the first day, so there’s still time.” Adrien smiled dryly. “But Gabriel did make me take those classes over the summer and he’s gotten me a tutor for during the year, so I’m not super worried.”

“Good ol’ Gabe. As demanding as he is, at least he wants you to succeed.” Marinette pulled her sketchbook out of her bag and opened it to a clean page. She normally sketched after school and in any other free moment she had.

“He does care,” Adrien agreed, but he wasn’t sure if that was really enough. Gabriel also had really high expectations, and he was closed off. When Adrien’s mom had been around, it hadn’t been so bad, but now Adrien felt isolated in his home. He looked at Marinette who had begun sketching out a jacket, already completely focused on the design. He was so grateful she was in his life. Without her, he didn’t know what he would do.

Their food arrived, and Adrien pulled out his homework so he could get some done before he went home that night. There were far less distractions at his house than the cafe, but for some reason it became a hundred times harder to focus there. He fell into a rhythm with his maths, running calculations through his head and racking his brain to remember the right formulas. It wasn’t easy. It was familiar and comfortable, though, which was good enough for him.

He and Marinette sat in a comfortable quiet for a while, working and eating while surrounded by the sounds of the city. After a couple of hours, in which Adrien had finished his maths and gotten Marinette’s help on the English assignment, they packed up their things to head home.

“So, I start earlier than you tomorrow,” Marinette said as she swung her backpack onto her shoulder, “but if you still want to stop by the bakery, let me know. I’ll make sure my parents save something for you.”

“I’d appreciate that.” Adrien smiled, securing his bag over his shoulder as they began to walk. “I can’t believe we only have two more years in lycée.”

“Me neither. Then we’ll be off into the world, getting degrees and jobs.” Marinette sighed contentedly. “I’m excited, though. It won’t be easy, but I’m ready.”

“Knowing you, you’ll do just fine.” Adrien moved as if to ruffle Marinette’s hair, making her duck and pout. “The fashion world is harsh, but you’ve got thick skin.”

“And I’ll be having fun, which is always the most important part.”

“Yeah. I don’t know if I’ll have time for fun for a few years.” Adrien shrugged. “But I’ll be happy.”

“Will you be, or will your father?” Marinette gave Adrien a pointed look. “I worry about you. Eventually you’re going to have to do something for your own good, not Gabriel’s.”

“Eventually. But I like working with numbers, and I can do a good job running a business. As long as I stay on this track, I’ll have a job lined up working for Gabriel without being a model.” Adrien offered a smile to Marinette, but she didn’t seem convinced. “Look, I’ve told you this. I’m going to do all this to keep Gabriel happy, yes, but I really will be happy, too. And I don’t want to model for longer than I have to. I don’t like modeling that much. Going through prépa gives me a perfectly reasonable excuse to get out of it, and then I can just stay out.”

“I know. I just want you to be happy.” Marinette adjusted her backpack on her shoulders, taking a moment to think. “I believe you when you say you like doing business stuff. I just don’t think you want to do it the way Gabriel wants you to.”

“As appealing as getting a BBA is, I will be better off the traditional route,” Adrien said, trying to infuse his voice with as much confidence as possible. He really did believe doing what Gabriel wanted would be better for him in the long run. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t be miserable along the way, but it would pay off. “I promise, I’ll be fine, especially once I get my degree and get a job. Besides, if I don’t want to work for Gabriel, I’ll just work for you.”

“What?” Marinette froze, causing Parisians and tourists alike to grumble as they walked around her. Adrien took her arm to pull her forward again.

“Why are you so surprised? Did you think I wouldn’t want to help you run your business?”

“Adrien, I won’t have my own business for years after I get out of design school. You’ll only get out of business school a couple of years after me.” Marinette shook her head. “I appreciate the sentiment, but that’s not that feasible.”

“I’ve been thinking about this, actually,” Adrien said, linking his arm through hers. “I have a plan.”

“A plan?” Marinette looked at him incredulously, shaking her head. “Okay, let’s hear it.”

“Like you said, you have a couple of years after you get out of design school before I finish school, too. During those years, we work on getting plans together for a business. You put together a portfolio, get some work experience, we figure out how much it would cost, all that fun stuff.” Adrien paused to gauge her reaction. So far, she still seemed in disbelief. He didn’t think she’d be on board right away, anyways. “I get out of school, and I go to Gabriel with a proposal: the Agrestes are investors in your company. I show him all the work you’ve put in, and how organized you are, and I basically just beg him to give us the money. Plus, I’ll have plenty of my own to contribute.”

“Adrien, that’s . . . plausible, actually, but I’ll need more than a couple years experience to run my own business, even if you’re on my side.” She patted his hand. “I appreciate that, and I’ll keep it in mind, but I also don’t want you throwing all your hard work away to work for me when we don’t even know if a company I start will even survive.”

Adrien had thought through all of that, and every other possible scenario, too, but he felt he was better off keeping that to himself for now. “You know I have full faith in you. Besides, I can spend some time getting experience at Gabriel too, or elsewhere. America, maybe.”

“That’s more like it. Go do what you want before you give yourself away to others.” Marinette smiled. “You know I love you with my whole heart, but sometimes I worry you’re going to keep giving even when you run out of things to give.”

Adrien smiled, feeling a warmth in his heart at her statement. “Thanks, Mari. I won’t forget that.” They reached his home and stopped walking, pausing for a moment as Adrien looked at his mansion. “Well, I’ve got to go. Can’t keep Gabriel waiting too long. He might get grumpy.” He smiled and nudged Marinette with his elbow.

“Oh, better not. We don’t want grumpy Gabe.” She giggled. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Marinette waved as she continued her walk to her house, a bounce in her step. Adrien watched her for a moment before turning to go into his home.

He stopped in Gabriel’s office to let his father know he was home before heading up to his room. He had a bit more homework he wanted to finish off, and then he’d have time to work out before dinner. As he sat down at his desk, however, he saw a strange black box sitting in the center. He set his bag down and picked up the box, inspecting it. It didn’t have a note, so he hadn’t received it from some fan, and if it was from Gabriel then he would have said something about it earlier. Adrien had half a mind to call for Nathalie to see if she knew, but he decided it couldn’t be dangerous if it had made it all the way up to his room. He opened it and was immediately blinded by a flash of pink light. He dropped the box onto his desk and pushed himself back in his chair, rolling several feet. The light faded as quickly as it came, and what was left was a small, floating . . . thing. Adrien had never seen anything like it before; it was several inches tall, with a small body and an oversized head, complete with short limbs and a weird, fan-like tail. It was red with black polkadots, and it had two antennae coming out of its head.

“Hello,” it said in a high-pitched voice, rather calm.

Adrien yelped in surprise, standing from his chair.

“I don’t mean to scare you—” the thing began, but it froze when another voice called from elsewhere in the house.

“Adrien? Are you alright?” Nathalie was speaking, and she sounded close. Close enough to find Adrien with this floating, talking thing. He shooed it back between his desk and bed in case Nathalie opened the door. He hadn’t locked it, which meant she could enter at any moment.

“Yeah, I'm fine. I just, uh, I knocked my book off my desk. It scared me a bit,” Adrien called back. “It’s fine.”

Nathalie didn’t respond, but Adrien waited several seconds before he let out a sigh of relief. He turned back to the thing, which was still floating beside his desk, looking up at him patiently.

“I’m sorry to have scared you,” it said quietly. “We didn’t get off on the best foot. I’m Tikki.”

“Adrien.” He looked at the thing for a few more moments, sitting on his bed. “I don’t want to be rude, but, what are you?”

“I am a kwami. I believe the closest word in your language is a fairy, or a god,” Tikki replied.

“Oh. A fairy-god. In my room.” Adrien ran a hand through his hair, nodding. “Okay. That’s cool. Um, another awkward question. I’m just guessing here, but are you a girl or like, no gender, or, you know, what’s up with that?”

“Female is fine. I don’t have gender in the way you humans have them, really, but female would be similar.” It floated up a bit higher to be at eye level with Adrien.

“Okay. Great. Nice to meet you, Tikki.” Adrien paused, looking at the thing for a moment. “So, what brings you here? To my room?”

Tikki smiled. “You have been chosen as the wielder of the Ladybug Miraculous.”

“The . . . the what?”

Tikki flew back to the box, grabbing something out of it and returning to Adrien. “These are miraculous stones. When you wear them, you can call on me to transform into a superhero.”

“A superhero! Seriously?” Adrien leaned his elbows on his knees and looked closer at what Tikki was holding. In her hands—paws?—were a pair of earrings, each red with five black dots. They were definitely ladybug-esque.

“Really,” Tikki reassured, holding the earrings out for him to take. Adrien held them cautiously in his hands. “We will have much to talk about, but for now, we’ll stick to the basics. You will have a partner, who wields the Cat Miraculous. You are the hero of good luck; they, bad luck. You also have a weapon and a special power, and when transformed, I’ll be able to guide you on how to use these effectively.”

“Okay. I’ve got a partner, weapon, and special power. Got that.” Adrien picked up one earring and held it closer to inspect it. “What else?”

“Your weapon is a yoyo.”

“A yoyo? That’s a toy.” Adrien looked at Tikki again, doubting her.

“I am serious, Adrien. The wielder of the Ladybug Miraculous has used a yoyo to fight for millennia. It’s proven to be a very effective weapon.” Tikki paused, but Adrien didn’t say anything, so she continued. “You also have a power: lucky charm. If you use it while transformed, you will receive an item that will help you win whatever battle you are fighting. However,” Tikki paused again, floating a bit closer to Adrien, “you will only have five minutes after using this until you detransform. Your earrings will act as a timer and countdown to remind you how much time you have left.”

“Okay, I’ve got all that.” Adrien nodded. “I just have one concern.”

“I’m happy to answer your questions. What is it?” Tikki looked at him with her bright blue eyes, smiling.

“Um, my ears aren’t pierced.”

“Oh! Well, that’s easy to fix.” Tikki gestured at the earrings. “I know you humans often have others pierce your ears, but I’d be happy to do it myself. I’ve done it plenty of times before.”

“Oh, no, my father will freak if I do that.” Adrien frowned, thinking. “I’m a model for him. He’s a fashion designer. I can’t just change my appearance like that.”

“Could you ask him for permission, then?” Tikki proposed.

“It couldn’t hurt, but I don’t know what he’ll say.” Adrien shrugged. “But I suppose I’m the hero of good luck, right? What could go wrong?”

His good luck prevailed, all right. In fact, not only was Gabriel perfectly fine with Adrien piercing his ears, he also got an appointment for the next day. Marinette came with him, never once questioning his decision, and he walked home with her with sore ears but absolutely full of excitement.

Tikki sat on his bathroom counter while Adrien looked at himself in the mirror. His hair wasn’t long enough to cover the earrings, so there they were in proud display. They were disguised as simple silver studs, but he was sure he’d still get plenty of attention for them. That was a problem for tomorrow, though. Just then he was more worried about being a superhero.

“Okay, Tikki,” Adrien said, looking down at her. “Are you ready?”

“Yep!” Tikki smiled, floating up off the counter. “Just say ‘transformez-moi’ when you want to transform. Remember, I’ll be absorbed into your earrings, but I’ll still be able to guide you a bit.”

“Alright.” Adrien took a deep breath, resolving that he would go through with this. “Tikki, transformez-moi!”

With a rush, Tikki flew into his earrings, and he was surrounded by her signature pink light. In seconds, he was transformed, and he was left standing alone in his bathroom wearing a Ladybug-themed costume.

“Woah.” Adrien looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, mesmerized by his new look. His hair looked windswept, pushed back on top of his head and off of his forehead. He thought he was wearing spandex head to toe, but it was hard to tell the exact material. It was red and black, like Tikki, but in sections. His shoulders, upper back, chest, and stomach were all black, while the rest of his torso was red with black spots, with the exception of his neck—it was simply red. The same applied to his legs- everything from the knees up was black, but the knees down were spotted. He had on short black gloves and boots and a spotted mask covering his eyes and eyebrows.

“This is so cool,” he said softly, turning to look from different angles. Around his hips was a red belt, and on the right side was his yoyo, just as Tikki had described it. He picked it up, hooking the string around his finger and tossing it down a few times. Although he hadn’t used a yoyo in years, and he was never very good in the first place, it seemed to come naturally, the yoyo easily finding its way back to his hand. “Okay,” he said to himself, catching his eyes in the mirror. The green stood out clearly against the red of his mask, bright and piercing. He looked older, more confident, and entirely like a superhero. “Let’s do this.”

Cautiously, Adrien crept out of his bathroom window, crouching on the windowsill. He grabbed his yoyo, testing the string a few times before casting it out to the roof, pulling the string to be sure it was secure. He then stood, took a deep breath, and pulled himself up to the roof, the string shortening as the yoyo re-wrapped itself. Adrien pulled himself up to the rooftop, holding his yoyo again. “This is crazy.” He looked over Paris in the semi-darkness, streetlights shining and people meandering down sidewalks. He smiled at the view, then threw out his yoyo again, this time swinging himself over the street to another building. The skill came naturally to him, as if he’d been doing it for years, and it fortunately saved him from crashing into the ground. He turned, preparing to swing out again, when he saw someone running across the rooftops, leaping gracefully from building to building. As the person came closer, he was able to pick out details- they were dressed in all black, with a long tail and cat ears on their head. They moved closer, and Adrien could tell it was a girl, with her dark hair pulled half back and flying behind her. She had the brightest blue eyes he’d ever seen. 

She jumped over to a building close to the one he was on, slowing to a stop. They stood several meters apart, staring for a few long moments. Adrien decided she had to be the partner Tikki talked about- she was also dressed in a skin-tight suit, though hers was all black and had short sleeves and shorts. Her arms and legs were covered by long gloves and boots, leaving only an inch of skin between these and her suit. Her mask was shaped similar to his, but came down further on the nose, and on her cheeks were whiskers. He didn’t know how they were staying put, but there they were, starting just beneath her mask and fanning out. Her tail was actually a belt that looped around her waist once. Cat ears sat alert on her head, a golden bell rested at the hollow of her throat. And her eyes- they were so blue, like the ocean, and he could stare into them forever.

She smiled, and her eyes lit up even more, and Adrien almost lost himself in them. She jogged closer to him to stand just a meter away, and he could see freckles peeking out from beneath her mask. “Hey,” she said, holding her hands behind her back. “You must be my partner.”

He forced himself to focus on her words instead of her eyes. “Must be. I doubt many more people in Paris got surprised by little fairies promising to make them superheroes.” Adrien smiled, and she giggled. She was practically glowing, and God, she was so pretty. He’d seen a lot of beautiful girls before, but something about her just reeled him in.

“We’re gonna need hero names, right? I was just thinking earlier, if we’re supposed to keep our identities secret, then we need to be called something else.” Her tail was flicking back and forth behind her, almost like it was real. Adrien found it endearing and struggled to focus on her words.

“Right.” Adrien nodded. “Call me . . . Coccinelle.”

“Coccinelle?” She giggled again, making Adrien’s heart sing. “Is that the best you can come up with?”

“C’mon, it fits, you can’t deny that.” Coccinelle held out his arms, showing off his outfit.

“I suppose. Well, if you’re Coccinelle, then I’m Chat.” Chat curtsied, smiling up at Coccinelle. She was at least a head shorter than him, and she was so cute.

Coccinelle smiled and bowed in return. “Nice to meet you, Chat.”

“So, we’ve got powers and stuff, right?” Chat reached behind her back and grabbed a metal stick, holding it in front of her. “I’ve got this thing. I’m still trying to figure out how to work it.” She pressed a button and the baton extended, and then she put it back to its small size.

“Well, that’s definitely cooler than mine.” Coccinelle pulled his yoyo off his hip, holding it out so she could see.

“A yoyo?” Chat shrugged. “Well, you’ll be a wild card. People won’t think you’re any danger because, I mean, yoyos aren’t exactly threatening.”

“Not until we defeat the villain and the whole world knows our names.” Coccinelle put his yoyo back at his hip, smiling. “Speaking of, what villain are we supposed to be fighting? I mean, do we just handle normal crime, or do we have a supervillain?”

“Is there a villain?” Chat looked at him dumbfounded for a moment, then shrugged. “We can ask our kwami later. I want to see what we can do.” She glanced around, then pointed at the Eiffel Tower. “Race you there?”

Coccinelle smiled. His nights were about to get a lot brighter if Chat was in them. “You’re on.”

Chat set her baton on her back, crouching into a runner’s sprint. “Ready . . . Go!”

She took off, Coccinelle at her heels. She was fast, but he had longer legs, and so they were side by side as they ran. Chat laughed as she jumped to the next building, her hair flying out behind her. Coccinelle knew without a doubt that he loved this girl, whoever she was.

When he realized that they were probably going to tie, he threw out his yoyo and began to swing to the next buildings, saving him time and putting him ahead of Chat. He heard her shout in defiance behind him but only laughed, continuing to run and swing himself closer to the tower. As he got closer to the tower, though, she managed to catch up, running even faster than before. As they reached the tower, side by side once again, Coccinelle tossed his yoyo up to the top to swing up and Chat used her baton to push herself up, her feet landing a second before his.

“Ha!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in victory. “Beat you!”

“That’s because I was going easy on you.” Coccinelle smiled, placing his yoyo back on his hip.

“Whatever. I’m still faster than you, even with your yoyo.” Chat walked over to the railing, leaning on it and looking out over the city. “The view is great from up here.”

Coccinelle smiled, eyes lingering on her for a second longer before joining her at the railing, watching over his city. “Yeah, it’s beautiful.”

They stood that way for a few minutes, quietly enjoying each other’s presence. Coccinelle couldn’t explain it, but he already felt immeasurably safe with Chat. He didn’t know her name, but it didn’t matter. She was already his partner.

“So, Chat,” he said, looking at her again. “I know we’re not supposed to reveal our identities, but who’s to say we can’t get to know each other?”

“What do you mean?” Chat met his eyes, one eyebrow raised.

“I mean . . . Let’s play a game.” Coccinelle turned so he could lean his back against the railing. “One of us asks a question, and we both answer, and then the other gets to ask one.”

“Alright.” Chat hopped onto the railing, legs dangling out over the edge. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Blue.”

“Mine’s pink.” Chat smiled, and Coccinelle matched it. He thought of Marinette’s bedroom- pink from floor to ceiling. It was a good color.

“Any pets?”

“No. I had a goldfish once when I was little.” Chat’s tail was flicking back and forth playfully

“Me neither.”

Chat took a moment to think, looking over the city again. “How old are you?”

“Are you sure we should answer that?” Coccinelle wanted to tell her, wanted to know who she was as a civilian, but he hesitated. It wouldn’t be good to disobey Tikki the first time he transformed. He’d have to talk to her later.

“Come on, it can’t hurt. There’s millions of people in Paris. It’s not like I’m going to be able to tell which of the thousands of people your age are you.”

“Alright, alright.” Coccinelle smiled. “I’m sixteen, but my birthday’s coming up soon.”

“When?” Chat leaned closer to him, eyes sparkling in excitement.

“It’s a secret.” Coccinelle smiled, folding his arms. “Besides, you haven’t answered the question yet.”

“I’m sixteen, too.” Chat giggled. “Your turn.”

“If you could have any pet, what would you get?”

“You are fixated on this pet thing,” Chat teased, smirking. “I would get a hamster.”

Coccinelle smiled for a moment, holding Chat’s gaze. “Dog.”

“What?” Chat leaned back and held her chest, gasping, feigning disbelief. “You would choose my mortal enemy to be your companion?”

“I’m kidding,” Coccinelle laughed, his heart singing when Chat’s laughter rang through the air. “I’m a cat person.”

“Really?” Chat looked back over Paris, kicking her feet, almost like a child.

“Yeah. I mean, dogs are cool and all, but cats and I are on the same page. Eat, get attention, and sleep all day. That’s the life I want to have.” Coccinelle relaxed back into the railing, looking up at the stars.

“Fair enough. Cats have a good life.” Chat smiled. “Okay, my turn.” She hummed for a moment as she thought, a brief tune Coccinelle thought he might know. “Describe your best friend.”

“My best friend?” Coccinelle looked at her to find her bright eyes staring right back at him, unwavering. “How does that describe me?”

“Well, the people you surround yourself with have a strong influence over how you act. It’s some psychology thing. I forget the term.” Chat shrugged. “Anyways, your best friend. Go.”

“Well, she’s a bit headstrong, but she’s smart.” Coccinelle pictured Marinette and their adventures together over the years, smiling. “She’s dedicated, and the most loyal person I know. No matter what happened, she’s always been by my side.” He paused, trying to measure Chat’s reaction, but her expression didn’t waver. “And you?”

“He’s probably the best person I know. He’s thoughtlessly kind, which worries me sometimes because he’s a bit self-sacrificing, but he’ll also help with my homework whenever I need it. He always takes the time for others, and is the most selfless person I know.” Chat let out a small laugh. “Considering his job, it’s kind of surprising.”

“His job? What does he do?”

“Ah, I think that would give him away, to be honest.” Chat smiled at Coccinelle. “It’s like your birthday. Top secret.”

“Fair enough.” They laughed together, and then Adrien looked back over the city. “Do you know what time it is? I’ve got to get back home before someone notices I’m missing.”

“Oh, me too.” Chat frowned, grabbing her baton from off her back. “Cool, this thing tells time. It’s almost twenty hours.”

Coccinelle huffed. “I’ve got to go, then, unfortunately.”

“Yeah. I should head home too.” She paused, looking at him. “Can I just . . . I have to say something, and it’s kind of weird, but just promise you won’t laugh?”

“Promise,” Coccinelle said, leaning closer to her. “What is it?”

“I just feel so comfortable around you. It’s kind of weird because I’ve known you for less than an hour, but . . .” she trailed off, searching for words.

“It feels like we’re best friends?” Coccinelle suggested, to which Chat nodded. “I feel it, too. It feels safe to be together.”

“Yeah, that’s it. I don’t want to leave.” Chat sighed, swinging her legs around to the other side of the railing to stand on the balcony. “Can you come out again tonight?”

Coccinelle ran through his schedule in his mind. After dinner, no one usually bothered him. He could always say he fell asleep early. “Yeah, I can. Can we meet here in an hour and a half?”

Chat nodded. “I’ll be here. Don’t miss me too much.” She giggled, her whole face lighting up and making Coccinelle almost lose himself.

“I’m sure I won’t miss you nearly as much as you’ll miss me.” He winked, then threw out his yoyo to go home, leaving her laughter behind him. Although he’d said it, he definitely didn’t believe it was possible to miss someone as much as he’d miss Chat.

She was right, that they hadn’t known each other long at all, but he already felt like he knew her. She was kind, quick thinking, funny, beautiful, and most importantly, Coccinelle knew without a doubt that he was falling for her, hard.


	2. Falling

Adrien walked out of school, spotting Marinette waiting for him at the bottom of the steps. He jogged down to meet her, smiling. She’d mentioned the new superheroes at lunch and he wanted to know what she thought of Coccinelle.

“Hey, Mari,” he said, prompting her to glance up from her phone.

“Hey! How was your first day with earrings?” She slipped her phone in her pocket as they began to walk. They’d decided at lunch they’d spend the afternoon at the park and enjoying the good weather.

“Ah, my ears still hurt, but so far I’ve only gotten compliments.” He reached up to touch one of his earrings cautiously, painfully aware of how obvious they were. “But we’ll see what people say when photos start coming out.”

“You’ll manage it just like you always do.” Marinette smiled, bumping her shoulder into his arm. “Besides, they’re just earrings. People do worse things all the time.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” They fell silent for a moment, so Adrien decided to bring up the heroes again. “So, you missed the vigilantes out last night?”

“Unfortunately, but I found a blog all about them.” Marinette reached for her phone again, searching for the blog.

“Already? They’ve only been out for a day.” Adrien glanced over at her phone as she held it out. It proudly read “The Ladyblog” at the top, and there were already several posts. 

“Remember Alya from college?” She asked, scrolling to find pictures that had been posted.

“Of course. Did she do this?” Adrien took Marinette’s phone to look through the pictures. There were dozens- the duo sitting and talking, running across rooftops, soaring up to the Eiffel Tower.

“Yeah! She saw them out last night and took pictures. She loves superheroes.” Marinette took her phone back, putting it back in her pocket. “She apparently spent all last night putting it together between getting pictures of them, since they were out for so long. She just texted me about it a couple hours ago.”

Adrien smiled. “It’s definitely like Alya to work on something like this during class. Could you send me the link?”

Marinette nodded, but then paused. “I didn’t think you were that interested in the two people running around on top of buildings.”

“Well, if they are superheroes, don’t you think they’re going to be a big deal? I want to stay on top of everything.” Adrien shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, but really he just wanted to see every picture up close.

“I suppose. But maybe you just have a crush on a certain girl in a cat costume?” Marinette raised her eyebrows, leaning closer to Adrien.

“I don’t even know her, Mari.” Adrien rolled his eyes, trying to throw her off. It would be bad to reveal his identity already, right?

“Well, I think the ladybug one is so cute,” Marinette said, and it took Adrien everything in his power to not shout out in surprise.

“Really?” he asked simply, trying to make his response as normal as possible.

“Of course. Did you see the same pictures that I did?” She giggled. “He could totally be a model. Maybe you know him.”

Adrien tried to laugh it off, but he felt like he probably came off somewhat awkward. “There’s a lot of blond models in Paris. Besides, we don’t even know how old he is.”

“He’s our age,” Marinette said confidently, before adding, “I mean, that’s my guess. He doesn’t look that old.”

Adrien nodded slowly, a bit confused but disregarding it. “The cat girl, she’s cute, too, don’t you think?”

“I-I don’t know,” Marinette said, waving her hands as if dismissing it. “Don’t you think it would be unfair if Paris’s own superhero duo were both unbelievably attractive?”

Adrien wanted to question her use of ‘unbelievably attractive’ - did she really think that about Coccinelle? - but she seemed flustered, so he dropped it. “I think it would represent Paris well, don’t you? The whole world’s going to think Paris is full of really hot people if they always see them on the news.”

Marinette laughed, and they walked into their favorite little park, heading over to some trees to get into the shade. “Yeah, we’ll have a great impression. Everyone normally thinks Parisians are all grumpy.”

“That’s because they are. Especially you.” Adrien poked Marinette’s shoulder, and she stuck her tongue out in response.

“At least I get to hang out with the Paris heartthrob. Anyone who comes here is going to think you’re our mascot, not the heroes, what with your face everywhere.” Marinette sat down, resting her back against a tree. Adrien sat facing her, leaning back on his elbows. He suddenly was worried if he’d be recognized in costume. Tikki had assured him that the magic of the transformation also concealed his identity, but if he was all over billboards and magazines, wouldn’t someone recognize him? He felt Tikki in his pocket press her hands against his chest as if to comfort him. He’d have to trust her.

“Yeah, right. I think superheroes are a bit cooler than a supermodel.” He looked up at the sky, the tree branches criss-crossing in front of the clouds. It was a gorgeous day, and he was grateful to be spending it relaxing in the park. He normally managed to be busy whenever the weather was nice, but it was a good change of pace to be able to relax in the warmth.

“Don’t worry. Paris might like heroes better, but you’ll always be my favorite,” Marinette said, smiling at Adrien before reaching into her bag for her sketchbook.

Adrien sighed happily, wondering not for the first time how she could say such things so easily. He made to lay down in the grass, but before he could he heard people screaming, and nearby. He felt Tikki tapping him, urging him to action, so he jumped up to his feet, grabbing his bag. “Mari, let’s go, I don’t think it’s safe here.”

She was already up, too, and she nodded. They ran out of the park, and Adrien saw a destroyed street nearby, cars overturned and people running from whatever was causing the damage. “Oh, no. We need to get out of here.” Marinette grabbed his arm, pulling him along with her, but he didn’t need any urging. He needed to get her somewhere safe, and then transform so he could deal with whatever was causing that destruction.

They ran into a small store on the street, already full of people hiding behind whatever they could find. Adrien knew it had to be an akuma, like Tikki had told him about the previous day, so he had to get away to transform. He was trying to come up with an excuse to get away from Marinette when she spoke up.

“Hey, I’ve got to run to the bathroom,” she said quietly. “Stay here, it’s safe.”

Adrien nodded, but he was apologizing to her in his head, knowing full well he’d run the second she disappeared. As soon as she was out of sight he ran out of the shop, ignoring the shouts of the people he left behind, and found an alley to hide in so he could finally transform. “Okay, Tikki,” he said as she flew out of his shirt pocket. “Are you ready?”

She nodded. “Let’s go!”

“Tikki, transformez-moi!” Adrien called, feeling the exhilarating pink light transform him into a superhero. He didn’t have time to appreciate the transformation, knowing that some villain was out terrorizing Paris, so he focused on the task ahead: find the akuma, break the akumatized object, and purify the butterfly.

Coccinelle threw out his yoyo and landed on a rooftop, looking around to find the source of all the damage. There was a path of destruction from the akuma, haphazardly leaving craters in the streets and cars strewn to the sides. He could only imagine how many people had already gotten hurt. The akuma was several blocks over, and seemed to be searching for something, or someone. She was wearing a vibrant pink princess dress, complete with long gloves and a tiara, and she also had a matching pink mask similar to his own. She was standing in the street, screaming and crying, though Coccinelle couldn’t quite hear what she was saying. Every time she stomped her foot in her tantrum, destruction rippled out around her.

Coccinelle looked ahead in horror. He heard familiar footsteps approaching from behind him, but couldn’t tear his gaze away from the akuma in front of him to look at Chat.

“She’s just a kid,” she said softly, placing a hand on Coccinelle’s shoulder. “Is that what we’re going to be doing? Fighting kids?”

“I don’t know,” he said simply, reaching up to lay his hand on top of Chat’s. “But we’ve got to help her.”

“Okay. So, what’s the plan?”

Coccinelle ran through options in his head, but he couldn’t find a solution. “I don’t know. I don’t know how we even get close to her. And then, don’t we need to find the akumatized object?” He was reviewing what Tikki had told him in the days prior about what they would be fighting, but he never expected to be up against a child. He looked at the akuma, studying her. She was maybe eight or nine years old at most. Who would have the heart to make her a villain?

“Well, why don’t we go see what she has to say? I have enhanced senses and all, but I still can’t pick out her words.” Chat squeezed his shoulder before reaching for her baton.

Coccinelle didn’t think that Chat’s plan was a very good one, but he didn’t see anything else they could do. “Alright, let’s go.”

The moved over a couple blocks, staying on top of the buildings, and then hid behind the parapets to listen to the akuma.

“I’m Princess Popular!” she exclaimed, her voice hoarse from her tantrum. “Everyone will love me! Especially Logan!” She turned, looking over the people who were running away. “Where is Logan?” She stomped again, storming away, each step sending another wave through the ground and tearing up the pavement.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to be Logan just about now,” Chat said softly, shaking her head. “Okay, we know what she wants, and what she can do. What now?”

“I’d say we just find Logan and we find her, but I don’t know who Logan is.” Coccinelle blew out his breath, thinking through his options. “I could use my power, get some special object, but we’ll only have five minutes.”

“Better work fast.” Chat smiled, somehow staying calm. “Besides, if you need to go recharge, I can keep her occupied.”

Coccinelle nodded, reassured by her. “Let’s do it.” He stood and grabbed his yoyo, then tossed it into the air. “Lucky Charm!” A red and black spotted teddy bear fell into his arms, and he looked over at Chat, still confused.

“A teddy bear?” Chat shrugged, clearly as confused as her partner.

Coccinelle glanced around, trying to think of a plan. He spotted Princess Popular’s tiara, Chat, the teddy bear, and it suddenly all came together. “Okay, Chat, I’m going to go talk to her. As soon as you get a chance, come down and grab her tiara.” He tucked the teddy bear under one arm, glancing at Chat. “Ready?”

“Ready,” she said with a nod, grabbing her baton and leaping over a couple of buildings to be closer to the akuma. Coccinelle went straight down into the streets, jogging carefully around the damaged ground to approach Princess Popular.

“Hey!” he said, holding the teddy bear in front of him so she could see it, “I’ve got a present for you!” His earrings beeped once in warning of his limited time, but he reminded himself to stay calm. This would work.

The akuma turned to face him, stopped for at least the time being. “A present?”

“Yeah. Here.” Coccinelle held the teddy bear further out, walking closer to her. “Do you want it?”

She nodded, reaching out to take it, but as she closed her hand around the teddy bear’s arm, a purple butterfly appeared over her face. Her demeanor changed and she was once again angry, clutching the teddy bear close to her chest. “I need your Miraculous!”

Coccinelle froze, unsure of how she knew what his earrings were or how to respond. Princess Popular didn’t hesitate, stomping again and moving the ground, throwing Coccinelle several feet away. He landed on his back but managed to roll onto his feet, staying in a crouch.

“Give me your Miraculous!” the akuma shouted, her attention now completely focused on Coccinelle. She advanced toward him, each step making him dodge one way or another, until he felt a an arm secure around his waist.

“Hold on,” Chat said, using her baton to launch them back up into the air and on top of a building, out of range of the akuma. She let go of Coccinelle and glanced back onto the street, where Princess Popular was even more upset than before, screaming about her need for the Miraculous. “Woah. This isn’t going to be easy.”

Coccinelle sighed. “No, it’s not. Did you see that butterfly on her face earlier, before she attacked me?”

“Yeah, that’s how Papillon talks to her,” Chat said. “I think they’re connected the whole time, but when the butterfly shows up, they’re talking directly to one another.”

“Oh.” Either Tikki hadn’t mentioned that or he hadn’t remembered, but it didn’t matter now. His earrings beeped again, and he began to think again. “Okay. I have three minutes, but you haven’t used cataclysm yet.” He glanced around at the street, trying to come up with a plan. He realized Princess Popular was still holding the teddy bear, and glanced back at Chat. “Are you up for a game of keep away?”

She glanced down at the akuma, then back at Coccinelle with a smile. “You know it. Let’s go.”

The two jumped back down into the street, the akuma’s attention back on them. “Hey!” Chat shouted, running past the akuma. “Does Papillon care about my Miraculous, too?”

The purple butterfly appeared once more, and Coccinelle took his chance to grab the teddy bear, his earrings beeping again in warning as he threw it to Chat.

She waited a moment for Princess Popular to get closer before throwing it back to Coccinelle, causing the akuma to run back and forth between them. On the next toss, Chat caught the teddy bear in her left hand, at the same time shouting, “Cataclysm!” and reaching towards the akuma, who was focused on the stuffed animal. Chat grabbed the tiara, turning it into black dust and releasing a dark purple butterfly. She held onto the teddy bear and ran, distracting Princess Popular and giving Chat time to purify the butterfly.

He grabbed his yoyo, setting it so it could catch the butterfly and swinging it around. “Time to de-evilize!” He tossed out the yoyo, catching the akuma and bringing his yoyo back. When he opened it again, a white butterfly flew out, fluttering off and completely incapable of causing any more harm. The streets were still destroyed and the akuma was still raging, so he ran towards Chat, his earrings beeping sharply in their final warning. Chat noticed him and threw the teddy bear, and he had only seconds before Princess Popular would be on him to get it back.

He tossed it into the air, shouting, “Miraculous Ladybug!” As Tikki had promised, his Miraculous cure spread around the city as a swarm of ladybugs- streets were restored to how the had been, cars put back in place, and any other damage from Princess Popular fixed. The ladybugs fixed the crumbled tiara and swarmed around her as well, leaving behind not an akuma, but a young girl in a simple pink dress. She stood frozen, clearly confused, simply staring at Chat. Coccinelle picked up her tiara and brought it over, kneeling beside her. “Is this yours?”

The girl glanced back at him, nodding. He placed it on her head, smoothing her hair down. “There. It’s perfect.” He was aware he had only seconds, and glanced back at Chat. Behind her, police were entering the scene, keeping civilians away from the two heroes. “Can you get her somewhere safe? I need to run.”

Chat huffed. “Yeah, sure. I’ll handle it.” She picked up the girl, holding her on her hip. Coccinelle took his chance to leave before police arrived, using his yoyo to swing away. He made it as far as he could before time ran out, dropping into an alley just as his transformation washed away. Tikki came out of his earrings, and he caught her in his hands. She sighed, slumped against his fingers, clearly exhausted.

“Sorry, Tikki,” he said, holding her to his pocket so she could crawl in. “I kind of pushed that one, didn’t I?”

“It’s okay, Adrien,” she said softly, nestling down in his pocket. “But I could use some cookies soon.”

“Of course. I have to find Marinette first, and then we can go get you something to eat.” Adrien made sure Tikki was hidden before stepping out of the alley and heading back to where Marinette was hopefully still hiding, safe from the akuma. As he jogged down the street, he saw Chat running by on rooftops, probably at the end of her transformation, too. He stepped back into the shop, but Marinette wasn’t there. He glanced around, and people were standing and talking loudly as they realized the danger had passed. Marinette appeared from the bathroom, spotting Adrien and smiling before heading over to him.

“Um, I should go home,” she said. “My parents are going to be worried.”

“Definitely, you should do that.” Adrien smiled at her, but something didn’t seem right. She was pale, and he could swear her hands were shaking. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Fine!” she said sharply, taking a step back from him. “I’m fine. I really should get going.”

“Okay.” Adrien watched her pass, shocked at her behavior. Why was she so nervous? Hadn’t she been in the bathroom the whole time? He shook his head, figuring it was best to leave her be, and went back to his own home.

Nathalie greeted him as he walked in, making him promise her he was unscathed several times before she let him go up to his room. He’d had a photoshoot scheduled for later, but it was cancelled with the stress of the akuma attack, so he had the night to himself. He took Tikki out of his pocket and set her on his shoulder, rummaging through his desk for his stash of cookies for her. He grabbed a handful and gave her one right away.

“Thank you,” she said, taking a large bite out of the cookie. Adrien went over to his TV, setting Tikki and her cookies down on the coffee table and grabbing his remote. He flipped through the TV channels, searching for news coverage of the akuma. He quickly found one of a reporter sitting and talking, footage of the battle behind her, and he turned up the volume, eager to know what Paris thought of he and Chat.

“Although the two managed to stop the fight and fix all damage, they disappeared before police could question them. Paris is left wondering what happened to the girl today to turn her into a villain, and who are the two vigilantes who stopped them? Here is Lieutenant Roger Raincomprix, live from the scene.”

The screen split in half; one side still showed the reporter and the other to the street where the battle had taken place, now completely back to normal, with police officers walking around and Sabrina’s father centered on screen. Adrien recognized him from when he was in college with his daughter. “As you can see, there is no remaining evidence of what took place here on the street. We are relying entirely on footage of the fight to determine what happened and how it was resolved.”

“And what about the masked duo who stopped the fight?” the reporter asked. “Do you know who they are?”

“No. So far, no one has been able to identify the two.” Lieutenant Raincomprix shook his head, but Adrien sighed in relief. He couldn’t imagine what his father would say if he found out what Adrien was doing. “However,” the officer continued, “we have seen them out before today. Last night, they were photographed by several civilians roaming the rooftops of Paris. While their activities may not have been safe, they have not done anything criminal. We are searching for them to determine not only what happened today, but also to make sure Paris does not have two vigilantes on its hands.”

“Wait, what?” Adrien looked over at Tikki, who was sitting on his coffee table with a plate of cookies. “Vigilantes? We stopped the villain and saved Paris; that’s the opposite of a vigilante.”

“Yes, but the police don’t know that,” Tikki said simply, taking another bite of her cookie.

“I suppose.” Adrien turned back to the TV, frowning. “Should Chat and I go talk to the police, then?”

“That would certainly help clarify some things. It might make people feel safer if the police trust you.” Tikki put the last of the cookie in her mouth, chewing quickly and flying up to sit on Adrien’s shoulder.

“Can you contact her kwami? Or can I talk to her somehow?”

“If you transform and call her, her kwami will alert her that you’re trying to get ahold of her.” Tikki smiled. “That’s the easiest way to get her attention.”

“Wait, I can call her?” Adrien looked at Tikki incredulously. “Like, as if I’m on the phone?”

“Actually, your yoyo will do a video call,” Tikki said. “Slide it open, and it will give you the option to call her.”

“Cool.” Adrien nodded. “Alright, then. Tikki, transformez-moi!”

As soon as he was transformed, Coccinelle snuck out through his bathroom window and climbed to a nearby rooftop. Certain he wasn’t anywhere recognizable, he grabbed his yoyo to call Chat. As Tikki had said, when he opened his yoyo there was a call option. He tapped the button, and it began to ring through to Chat. He waited, and waited, but his call was denied. Frowning, he tried again, and this time Chat answered.

“Coccinelle?” she was on a rooftop, like him, but he didn’t see her anywhere nearby. “What’s going on?”

“Have you watched the news coverage of the akuma today?” He glanced in the streets, where people were looking up at him in awe, already taking pictures. The police would hear and he was certain they’d come find him. He backed up so he was out of view of the streets.

“No, I don’t really watch the news.” Chat blinked, clearly confused.

“Well, the police don’t trust us.” Coccinelle sighed. “They don’t understand what happened with the akuma, which is fair, but that means they also have no clue who we are.”

“Oh. It’s not like we could have stayed to talk,” Chat huffed, flicking one of her ears.

“No, but they don’t know that. I think we should go talk to them now, if you’re available. People already saw me out, so I’m sure the police will be coming soon.” Coccinelle took a hesitant step forward, confirming that people were still looking up at him in awe.

Chat looked to the side for a moment, debating, then nodded. “Okay. That’s a good idea. Should we meet at city hall? It’ll be easy for the police to find us.”

“Yeah, that’s smart. See you there.” Coccinelle flipped his yoyo shut, then threw it out to swing over to city hall. He arrived moments before Chat, who waved as she put her baton on her back.

“So, what now?” she asked, but before she could answer, a police officer was rushing out of city hall to greet them.

“We were just going to send out a notice that we needed to speak with you two,” she said, waving for them to follow her. “Come with me, please.”

The two heroes followed her through city hall, earning stunned gazes from everyone they passed. The officer led them straight to the mayor’s office, knocking once before opening the door. “Mayor Bourgeois, the two heroes are here.”

“Already?” came M. Bourgeois’s voice from inside. “Well, bring them in.”

The officer opened the door wider, gesturing for the duo to enter. Coccinelle led the way, taking a few steps into the room. There was the mayor and Lieutenant Raincomprix, but no one else. Coccinelle couldn’t help feel like they were in trouble.

“Please, come in, take a seat,” M. Bourgeois said, gesturing at the two open chairs in front of his desk.

“Thank you,” Coccinelle said, crossing the room with Chat and sitting.

“We’re happy to be here,” Chat said, crossing her legs and sitting up in her chair. Coccinelle noticed a slight change in her voice, the better posture, her pleasant expression- they were all things he did all the time when he was in the public eye. Surely she was as popular as him as a civilian?

“We appreciate you coming so swiftly,” Lieutenant Raincomprix said, interrupting Coccinelle’s thoughts. “We have some questions about the events of today.”

And the duo answered them as best they could. When Coccinelle didn’t know an answer, sometimes Chat would, or he’d see brief visions from Tikki that gave him the answer. They refused to tell anything about their identities other than their hero names, prompting Chat and the lieutenant to get into a calm but tense argument over the heroes’ safety versus Paris’s comfort. They shed light on the situation with Papillon, gave what little information they had, explained what akumas were and how to stop them. It wasn’t a long discussion, because Chat had to get home before she was noticed missing, but they managed to come to terms.

They were escorted out of city hall and sent on their way, but they stopped on top of the building together before heading home.

“Can we meet tonight? For a patrol or something?” Chat asked, her cat ears tilted back and her brows furrowed. “I need to talk to you about something with my Miraculous. My kwami isn’t being very helpful at the moment.” She gave a pointed glare to her ring, but they both knew the kwami could hear everything they said.

“Sure. I’ll meet you at the top of the Eiffel Tower at twenty-two hours?” Coccinelle suggested.

“That works. I’ll see you then.” Chat grabbed her baton, glancing back at Coccinelle once more. “Thanks, bug.”

Coccinelle smiled, waving as she ran off. As she jumped to the next building, he turned to head back to his home, making sure to take a complicated route home so he wasn’t followed. In his room, he detransformed and settled into his desk, setting Tikki down with some cookies on one corner. He’d already decided to get some plants for her to make her home in, so that she’d be more comfortable but also so she’d be hidden. He worked on his homework before dinner, talking to Tikki for a little while, but she eventually left to wander around his room and he focused on his work.

After dinner, he counted down the minutes eagerly to patrol, leaving far earlier than he needed to and taking his time jogging across the rooftops. He looked over the people walking down the streets, enjoying the view of Paris from above, before finally swinging up to the top tier of the Eiffel Tower. He was at least ten minutes early, but Chat was already there, sitting with her back against the railing and her knees curled up to her chest. Her cat ears were pressed flat against her head, and the end of her tail was flicking back and forth against the ground. When Coccinelle landed, she jumped in surprise, grabbing her baton as she moved into a crouch.

“It’s just me,” Coccinelle said with a smile, securing his yoyo on his hip. “Still uneasy from today?”

“Something like that.” Chat put her baton on her back, standing and leaning against the railing. Her ears were still flat, which was unusual, and she still stood tense.

“Hey, are you okay?” Coccinelle asked, taking a couple steps closer to his partner.

Chat sighed, looking up at the sky for a moment before back at Coccinelle. “Does your lucky charm have any negative effects?”

“What do you mean?” Coccinelle crossed the distance to her, leaning back against the railing and bracing himself with his hands.

“I mean . . . well, my cataclysm does. It’s just, since I used it today, something’s been wrong. My kwami insists that it’s normal but he won’t say anything else about it, so I was hoping you maybe knew more.” Chat folded her arms, hunching her shoulders. Coccinelle hated how uncomfortable she seemed, but he didn’t know how to help her.

Before he could respond, Tikki sent him more images; they flashed by in mere moments, but he got the message. “My kwami says it’s normal, too. She just told me.”

“Does she do the picture thing too?” Chat asked, laughing when Coccinelle nodded. “It’s the weirdest thing. It scared me when it first happened.”

“Yeah, it’s a surprise.” Coccinelle looked back at Chat, but despite her laughter, she still looked unbelievably nervous. “I’m sorry I’m not more help, but if you want to talk about it-”

“No, that’s fine,” Chat snapped, looking away from him. “I’ll figure it out.”

“It’s just, if you’re not doing well, I want to help.” Coccinelle touched her shoulder gently, but she didn’t push him off, so he kept talking. “I don’t know what I can do for you, but if you tell me, I’ll do it.”

Chat looked back at him with tears in her eyes. “I don’t know, either,” she said softly, her voice cracking. Coccinelle didn’t hesitate before he pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around her. She nestled in his shoulder, not altogether sobbing but still crying. Coccinelle could feel her shaking, and hated that he couldn’t do more. He decided that he’d talk to Tikki more about what had happened in the past, what he could do to help.

After a couple minutes Chat pulled away, wiping her cheeks with the palm of her hand. “Thanks,” she said softly. “I know I said we should patrol or something, but I think I should just go home.”

“You should,” Coccinelle agreed. “We can try again tomorrow.”

“Yeah. I’ll keep in touch.” Chat grabbed her baton. “See you tomorrow, then?”

“Tomorrow.” Coccinelle watched her jump off the railing, using her baton to propel herself forward, and then jumped himself, swinging back to his home. He detransformed as he went through his window, catching Tikki in his hands.

“Tikki, is she okay?” he asked as he walked over to his bed, sitting on the edge.

Tikki patted his fingers. “She will be. Her kwami is right that it’s normal. It doesn’t always happen to the cat wielders, but it happens often enough. Using cataclysm takes a lot of bad luck, and sometimes there’s an adjustment period.”

“Oh.” Adrien shrugged, setting Tikki down on his desk. “That’s not so bad. What’s exactly happening to her, then?”

“It varies between wielders, but normally it affects mood. They’ll normally get more irritable and grumpy for a bit, but then they’ll get better.” Tikki flew over to the cookies Adrien had put out before leaving. “In Chat’s case, I’d say that’s likely what’s happening. It’s a very stressful situation. You did the right thing to help.”

“I did?” Adrien asked, doubtful, but Tikki nodded. He hadn’t done much, but he supposed it was what Chat had needed. His phone vibrated on his desk, and he grabbed it to check- a text from Marinette.

Mari: hey, ive got a lot of work to do tomorrow so i think im just going to come home for lunch

Adrien: okay, do you want to go to the cafe after school?

Mari: i think im just going to go home… im not feeling too good

Adrien frowned. She was definitely not telling him everything, but he didn’t want to pry.

Adrien: that’s okay, feel better! I’ll see you in the morning then?

Mari: yeah. ill ask papa to save u something

Adrien: thanks!

Adrien set his phone down again, looking up at Tikki and smiling. “Well, it’s been a long day. We should get some sleep.”

Tikki flew over to settle onto his pillow as Adrien got under the blankets.

“Let’s hope there’s no akuma tomorrow,” Adrien said, getting a nod from Tikki before he closed his eyes.


	3. Breakdown

The last thing Adrien expected to hear when he walked into the Dupain-Cheng kitchen was Marinette and Tom yelling at each other, but after Sabine had waved him upstairs with a smile, he’d come face to face with the two fighting. He knew Marinette argued with Sabine sometimes, but she always got along with Tom. Always. He froze in the doorway, half-convinced he was still asleep.

“Why am I even in trouble?” Marinette asked, clearly exasperated. She was still in her pajamas, and there was a forgotten bowl of cereal on the countertop.

“Because you were gone last night! You can’t just leave without telling your mother and I,” Tom folded his arms.

“It’s not even that big of a deal. Seriously, why are you freaking out about this?” Marinette put her hands on her hips

“Marinette, I don’t know where this attitude came from, but you had better make it disappear before you get into more trouble!” Tom wasn’t exactly yelling, but his voice was raised, his hands were clenched into fists, and he was clearly very angry at something.

“But I didn’t do anything wrong! This is so unfair!” Marinette huffed, turning away from Tom as if to walk away from the conversation and locking eyes with Adrien. She let out a defeated sigh, her shoulders slumping. “I’m going to go get ready. I’ll be back down in a few minutes,” she said quietly, but her voice was still strained and full of tension. She stormed past Tom, making her way up to her room.

Tom looked back at Adrien apologetically. “Sorry you had to walk in on that, Adrien.”

“It’s fine,” Adrien said immediately, although he also wished he hadn’t been there. “I should’ve knocked or something.”

Tom gave him a small smile, patting his shoulder. “Something’s up with Marinette. Could you keep an eye on her today? I don’t want her to get into any trouble at school.”

“Sure. I’ll do my best.” Adrien watched Tom walk down to the bakery without another word. Adrien was left alone in the kitchen, dumbfounded. Still lost as to what Marinette had done to make Tom so angry, he sat down at the counter to wait for Marinette. She came back down shortly after, looking surprisingly well put together.

“Hey,” she said, pulling her hair up into a messy bun as she walked, “you ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Adrien stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder, falling into step behind Marinette as she walked down through the bakery. He waved at her parents as they left, but she avoided eye contact, slipping past the customers and out onto the street.

They began walking in silence, which was unnerving when Marinette always had something to say. “So,” Adrien said, “are you feeling better than last night?”

“No.” Marinette said plainly, shifting her bag on her shoulder. Adrien waited for her to say more, but the words never came.

“Do you think you’re just catching a cold?” Adrien glanced at her, but she was looking straight ahead, avoiding his eyes.

Marinette shrugged. “I don’t know.” She sighed, glancing at Adrien briefly before locking her eyes forward again.

Adrien was definitely concerned. This was entirely unlike the Marinette he knew. “Mari, I can tell something’s up. You don’t have to talk to me, but you know I’m here for you if you do.”

“I get it, okay? You care. Thanks.” Marinette finally looked him in the eye, but she was glaring, taking Adrien aback. “Unfortunately, caring a whole lot doesn’t make anything better. So just leave me be, Adrien.” She stormed off before Adrien could say anything, pushing past people to distance herself from him.

Adrien forced himself to keep walking, but he didn’t know how to react. He was a little hurt, but more worried than anything. Marinette had never acted like that before. That was probably why were parents were mad at her, too, which certainly couldn’t be helping. He didn’t know what was going on, but he was determined to figure it out.

Suddenly, people were shouting and running back in the opposite direction he was going. He heard a loud crash from up ahead and several screams, and immediately ducked into a nearby building. It had to be another akuma. He was hoping it wasn’t Marinette as he ran for a private bathroom to transform -- the last thing he wanted was to fight her.

“Are you ready?” he asked Tikki, letting her out of his shirt pocket.

“Let’s go! If we hurry, you won’t be too late to school.”

“Tikki, transformez-moi!”

Coccinelle slipped out of a window and made his way up to the rooftops, easily locating the source of the chaos. He ran towards it and found the akuma, who was floating above the street. He had a navy blue suit and mask and a dark red cape, with gray gloves and boots. Nothing immediately stood out to Coccinelle as the akumatized object.

“What are we fighting today?” Chat asked as she appeared beside him, easily matching his speed.

“I’m not sure. He can fly, and whatever he’s doing, he’s really terrifying some people.”

“Of course. We couldn’t be so lucky as to have someone easy to stop.” Chat sighed. “Well, let’s go see what he can do.”

The heroes crossed a few more rooftops before they could clearly see what was going on. By some sort of magic, the street was destroying itself. Cars were soaring through the air, cracking the road when they landed; streetlights, mailboxes, and anything else nearby were also flying around as if they were missiles, heading straight for the people running away. In the center of it all, unarmed, was the akuma, floating in the air.

“Telekinesis? That’s just not fair,” Chat groaned. “How are we supposed to fight that?”

Coccinelle sighed. “I don’t know. We need to get the akumatized object, but I’m not sure what that is.” He looked over the akuma again, when something caught his eye. The villain’s hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and a bright gold hair tie was holding his hair in place, shining and very out of place. “It’s the hair tie. That’s what we need to get.”

“Coccinelle, he can fly,” Chat said incredulously. “What are we supposed to do?”

Before Coccinelle could even come up with an answer, the akuma started moving faster, throwing more things off the street around and creating far more noise than before.

“Where are your heroes?” the akuma crooned, laughing as people ran from him, screaming. “How foolish to have such faith in them.” He rose into the air, cape flapping behind him, and the portion of the street around him broke apart and came up as well. He paused for a moment before dropping the masses of pavement; they landed with an echoing boom, shattering and breaking the surrounding sidewalks and storefronts.

“What is this?” Chat whispered, glancing at Coccinelle. “What is he trying to do?”

“Attract us,” Coccinelle said simply. “He’s trying to get our attention, and he’s succeeded.”

“Aren’t the akuma supposed to have a goal? They get akumatized because they’re hurt, so aren’t they supposed to be righting that?”

Coccinelle shook his head. “I don’t know. But his goal is clearly us. Papillon must have already told him to get the Miraculouses.”

Chat fingered her ring warily. “Well, he’ll have to fight us.”

“Yeah. Let’s get in there, see if we can figure out what he wants.” Coccinelle gestured at an untouched portion of the street nearby. “I’m pretty sure his powers have a range, so just keep your distance.”

“Got it.” Chat grabbed her baton, and together she and Coccinelle ran over buildings and jumped down into the streets, landing a safe distance away from the akuma.

“Look who finally arrived!” the akuma began slowly advancing towards them, a smirk spreading across his face. “The famed Coccinelle and Chat. It’s my pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“What do you want from us?” Coccinelle called out, holding his yoyo at the ready to defend himself against any attacks.

“Eager, are we?” The akuma shook his head. “Well, it’s simple. I’m The Vindicator. I’ve already sorted out all of my own problems, and now I’m keeping my promise to Papillon.” Two cars soared up into the air on either side of the akuma. “I need your Miraculouses. You can give them to me, or I will take them. It’s up to you.”

“In your dreams,” Chat spat, holding her baton in front of her.

The Vindicator clicked his tongue. “You will lose, heroes. But at least I’ll have some fun.” He launched the cars towards them, and they both dove away. Coccinelle glanced over at Chat, who was too far from him now. They couldn’t protect each other. He tried to get closer, but he was thwarted at every move by the akuma. He used his yoyo to deflect and pull himself away from flying debris, constantly backing up so the akuma couldn’t grab him. While he was diving to avoid one thing, another grazed his shoulder. He hissed in pain, forcing himself to shake it off and keep fighting. He heard Chat grunting in effort, and then a yelp of pain. He glanced at her, and she was facedown on the ground, trying to push herself back up but going far too slow. Her baton was cast aside, several meters behind her.

“Chat!” Coccinelle called out, running towards her and not seeing the mailbox flying at him until it was too late. It hit him dead on, knocking him to the ground and winding him. He pushed the mailbox off of him and gasped for air, his whole body reeling from the hit. He heard Chat struggling, but try as he might, he couldn’t get up. He managed to roll to his side, but his body would not do what he wanted.

“Uh oh, looks like the kitty’s gone up too high,” The Vindicator crowed, and Coccinelle lifted his head from the ground to see Chat hanging by her tail, above the roofs of the buildings. Her baton was on the ground, useless to her. She was struggling, but barely, still reeling from the previous attack.

“Put her down, Vindicator,” Coccinelle said as he pushed himself to his feet, his entire body protesting. “Dropping her isn’t going to put you in the public favor.”

“Oh, I don’t care what people think of me.” The Vindicator shrugged, swinging Chat back and forth. She was hanging limp now, no longer fighting, but Coccinelle could see her scanning the ground; she must have been looking for a place to land. It was all concrete, and any buildings or ledges were far out of her reach. Coccinelle had to be careful, or else his partner would be falling and hitting the ground before he could reach her.

“Well, you should. You won’t be able to get away with intimidating people forever.” Coccinelle grabbed his yoyo, swinging it in a circle beside him. He was trying to think of a plan, but The Vindicator was smart. He’d been one step ahead this entire fight.

“Sure I can. I can just do this.” He let Chat fall a few feet, making her shout out in fear, before catching her and pulling her up even higher than before. She looked right at Coccinelle, her eyes begging for help.

“I can’t let you do that, not to her or to all of Paris.” Coccinelle braced himself, praying his plan would work, before throwing his yoyo out towards The Vindicator. Chat fell, and his yoyo arched towards her, wrapping around her middle. Coccinelle yanked, and he managed to get Chat far enough away from the villain that he couldn’t use his powers. Now Chat was coming straight at him, though, and he didn’t have the time to stop her; he caught her instead and fell to the ground on impact. Coccinelle held his partner close as they slid several meters, determined to keep her safe. They came to a stop in the middle of the street, and Coccinelle’s entire back was screaming in pain, but he didn’t have time to worry about that. He sat up, still holding Chat, and glared up at the akuma. Chat was shaking in his arms, huddled against him, clearly terrified. He could hear his heart pounding and forced himself to stay calm. No one did this to his partner, and no one was going to get away with it.

He was going to end this, now.

“No more games, Vindicator,” Coccinelle said, letting Chat go and moving to stand in front of her. He was exhausted and his entire body hurt, but he didn’t have time to worry about himself. He heard Chat slowly standing behind him, her ragged breathing, and felt the fear radiating off of her. “You want my Miraculous, right? Come and get it.” He spun his yoyo beside him again, bracing himself to fight.

The Vindicator advanced through the air, and Coccinelle glanced back at Chat. “Get your baton,” he said quietly, and she nodded, preparing to run at the first chance. Coccinelle ran towards the akuma, hovering just out of his reach, zig-zagging back and forth to avoid the onslaught of cars and pieces of concrete. He saw Chat in the corner of his eye, sprinting to her baton and grabbing it just in time to ward off a car door thrown by the akuma.

Coccinelle needed a plan, he needed a lucky charm, he needed time to stop for a moment so he could breathe, but he didn’t have any of those things. The Vindicator was ruthless, moving forward as he attacked which forced the heroes to continue to move back as they dodged. He reacted purely on instinct, diving to his right to avoid a lamp post and jumping out of the way of a piece of the sidewalk.

He caught glimpses of Chat, who wasn’t faring much better; she could block with her baton, but her reactions were slow, and she was getting hit by projectiles far more often than Coccinelle. She was too slow to block a piece of concrete and it skimmed her baton, pushing her back and down to the ground; before she could stand again, The Vindicator was throwing an entire car.

“No!” Coccinelle screamed, throwing out his yoyo to drag Chat away. He only managed to get her a few meters, just barely out of the car’s path, before something hit him straight on, knocking him to the ground. He took the brunt of the fall with his shoulder, but his head slammed into the concrete, making him too dizzy to stand right away. Beside him, Chat was struggling up to her feet and screaming something Coccinelle couldn’t make sense of; he felt himself rising into the air, desperately holding onto his yoyo. He couldn’t lose it, or he’d be helpless.

The Vindicator laughed as he lifted Coccinelle into the air, holding the hero at his eye height. His mouth formed words, and sounds came out, but Coccinelle couldn’t put them together into something he understood. The akuma smirked, glancing down at Chat. She was smart enough to stay out of his range, but she was still screaming words Coccinelle was starting to understand.

“You will not get away with this!” she screamed, her voice strained with emotion. “Let him go! I’ll fight you instead!”

Coccinelle focused back on the akuma, his head slowly clearing.

“You only have one of us,” Coccinelle said in a low voice, his head pounding. “Even if you get my Miraculous, you won’t defeat her.”

“Oh? Is that so?” The Vindicator laughed again. “I think I’ll do just fine. She’ll lose, especially once I distract her with something like this.”

A metal bar slammed into Coccinelle’s chest, knocking the wind out of him, and then wrapped around him. Coccinelle struggled, barely able to breathe. The Vindicator left him there and turned his attention to Chat, who was holding her baton in front of her and was snarling, tail lashing, ears flat; she was clearly ready for a fight.

The bar tightened around Coccinelle, and he was gasping for air. He was straining against it, but it was useless; The Vindicator had him in his grasp and was determined to suffocate him. He continued to struggle, however futile it seemed, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Chat running towards him. He knew exactly what she was going to do and wanted to shout out to her to stop, but he couldn’t form words. She used her baton to vault herself up, soaring closer to him. He could barely hear her shout, “Cataclysm!” as she raised her hand, the pain clear in her eyes as she turned the metal bar into black dust. She held a gasping Coccinelle around the middle, using her baton to try to propel them forwards and shouting in frustration when they didn’t move.

Somewhere behind them, The Vindicator laughed, but they didn’t have time to play anymore. Coccinelle wanted to call Lucky Charm, but he was stuck in the air; he realized abruptly that he was free to move all he wanted, and that the akuma was only holding his partner.

“Chat,” he said softly, turning his head to meet her eyes, “let me go.”

“What?” In response, she held on tighter. “I’m not dropping you.”

“I have my yoyo. I’ll be fine. As soon as I’m safe, I’m going to call a Lucky Charm. I’ll be right back for you.” He offered up a smile even though he was terrified, and Chat nodded. Moments later, he was falling, and he used his yoyo to swing over and up, landing on a rooftop and hopping over one more to be safe. He didn’t waste a beat before tossing his yoyo and calling, “Lucky Charm!”

A grenade fell back into his hands, and he knew somehow that it was gas, thick and blinding but otherwise harmless. He looked back at The Vindicator, noticing Chat on the ground again and fighting off an onslaught of attacks. She had to be running low on time, but she was still fighting hard. Coccinelle suddenly realized that she would be able to see through the gas with her mask, and didn’t hesitate before running back towards the fight. He pulled the pin and threw the grenade down into the street, instantly filling the area with dark black smoke. He stayed on top of the buildings, hoping Chat would know where to find him, and waited several long moments that stretched into eternity. He could hear the akuma screaming in outrage shortly before Chat emerged out of the smoke. She landed on the rooftop beside him, coughing and with both the hair tie and grenade in her hand.

“Let’s finish this,” she said sharply, dropping the grenade and putting her baton on her back. She ripped the hair tie in half, watching the akuma fly out and try to escape back into the air.

“Time to de-evilize,” Coccinelle called with little enthusiasm, grabbing the akuma with his yoyo and purifying it, letting it fly free again. He picked up the empty grenade, tossing it into the air and shouting a weak, “Miraculous Ladybug,” watching the swarm of ladybugs move quickly over the demolished street. The smoke cleared, the road and buildings were repaired, and a man was left down below in place of the akuma. When all else had been restored, the ladybugs flew around the two heroes last, and Coccinelle breathed a sigh of relief as he felt his muscles relax and the pain in his back and head completely disappear. As the ladybugs left, he saw the hair tie in his hand, and knew he had to go talk to the victim. Chat’s ring beeped, only one part of the paw print left.

“Go. Get somewhere safe. I’ll get ahold of you later tonight,” Coccinelle said, and Chat only nodded before running off, using her baton to propel herself.

He took a deep breath before jumping down into the street as his earrings beeped once, using his yoyo to slow his descent. He walked over to the man and offered him a hand to help him up. The man took it, standing and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I’m sorry about that,” the man began, but Coccinelle cut him off.

“There’s no need to apologize. It’s Papillon’s fault, not yours.” Coccinelle held out the hair tie, whole again from the Miraculous cure. “This belongs to you.”

The man breathed a sigh of relief, taking it gently from Coccinelle. “Thank you. For this, and for saving me.” He smiled at Coccinelle gratefully, putting his hair back up into a ponytail.

Police flooded into the area, followed by EMT’s who rushed over to the victim, wrapping him in a shock blanket and checking for any injury. Convinced he was in safe hands, Coccinelle went to talk to the police briefly, assuring them everything should have been fixed. It took a couple minutes and he was down to two spots on his earrings, so he managed to excuse himself and get back onto the rooftops and away.

He slipped into a small alley, detransforming and catching Tikki as she flew out of his earrings.

“That was a tough one,” she said softly, patting Adrien’s fingers, “but you did a good job.”

“Thanks.” Adrien opened up his bag, guiding Tikki into a pocket with cookies that she could safely hide in. “Rest up. Who knows when Papillon will send out another akuma.” He shifted his bag on his shoulder and set out to school. He was very, very late; hopefully he could blame it on the akuma.

He was surprised when he got to school that Marinette hadn’t arrived. Even if she hadn’t made it before the akuma attack, she would have had plenty of time after. She never came. They had classes together that she didn’t show up too, and at lunch he decided to check at her home. He had called her several times throughout the day, and she finally answered as he was leaving for lunch.

“What do you want?” she snapped, clearly annoyed.

“Are you okay? You haven’t been at school all day.” Adrien stopped on the edge of the sidewalk, out of the way. Wherever Marinette was, he was going.

“I’m fine.” she said curtly.

“Where have you been?” He leaned against the fence, his free hand on his hip.

“I went home.”

“I’ll stop by the bakery, then. Do you want to at least come eat with me?”

Marinette didn’t respond for several seconds. “I’m not at home.”

“What?” Adrien sighed. “Mari, I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t. I’m fine.” She said it in the same tone as before, and it was starting to get on Adrien’s nerves. As much as he cared about her, she’d never acted this way before.

“Can you just tell me where you are?” he asked, exasperated, rubbing his forehead.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because then you’ll come bother me and tell me how worried you are and I don’t want to talk about it. You wouldn’t understand.”

Adrien sighed, trying to stay patient. “Try me.”

Marinette huffed, falling silent for several seconds. “I’m at a cafe. I’m safe.”

“I’m happy to hear that. Are you going to come home?”

“Eventually. Probably. I don’t know, Adrien. My parents are pissed.”

Adrien didn’t believe what she was saying. Was she seriously suggesting she might run away? “They’re worried about you, Marinette. It’s only going to be worse if you don’t come home or if they find out you weren’t at school.”

“Please don’t tell them I didn’t go to school.”

“I can’t lie to them!”

“Adrien, please! I’m already in trouble!”

“Then come get lunch with me and go back to school after.” Adrien sighed, pushing himself on the fence and walking again. He couldn’t sit still anymore. “You can’t just avoid the whole world.”

“Fine! I’ll meet you at the bakery.”

Adrien turned in the direction of Marinette’s home, hoping he could talk some sense into her. “If you don’t, I will tell your parents. I’m not going to lie to them.”

“I know you will.” Marinette huffed. “I’ll be there in ten.”

She hung up, leaving Adrien sighing. He went straight over to the bakery, making his way through the busy tables to meet Sabine at the counter.

“Hello, Adrien,” Sabine said with a smile. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m just waiting for Marinette. We were planning on meeting here.” Adrien shrugged. “Could I grab something to eat, though?”

“Certainly, Adrien. Let me put together a bag for you.” Sabine grabbed a bag with the bakery logo on it, filling it with various pastries and sandwiches. “So, Tom told me you saw him and Marinette arguing this morning.”

“Yeah, um, I did.” Adrien adjusted his bag on his shoulder. “I didn’t mean to, I was just there, all of a sudden.”

“I know it’s not your fault, dear,” Sabine said, closing the bag and handing it to Adrien. “I was just wondering if she’s acted like this before.”

Adrien took the pastries, putting it in his school bag and taking a moment to think of a response. “Well, last night, she was acting kind of weird, and she seemed pretty upset this morning- but that was right after the fight so I don’t know if she was still mad about that.” Adrien felt himself talking too fast and forced himself to stop, taking a deep breath. “It’s a recent thing, I think.”

Sabine nodded, brushing off her apron. “Last night, Tom and I went to check on her after dinner. She’d been acting strange. She wasn’t in her room, and she’d left her phone behind. We checked again half an hour later, and she was back, asleep.” She sighed, meeting Adrien’s eyes. “We’re worried. Do you know where she went?”

Adrien shook his head, as confused as Sabine. She was missing while he was out with Chat. “I have no idea. I was, um, I was working on some stuff. She wasn’t with me.”

Sabine nodded. “Well, that’s okay. Please, let us know if you find out anything more. We don’t know what came over her.”

“Of course.” Adrien smiled. “I’m worried about her, too. I’ll try to find out more.”

“Thank you, Adrien.” Sabine reached over the counter to pat his arm, then glanced over his shoulder. “Here she is. Take care.”

“Bye, Sabine. Thanks for lunch.” Adrien grabbed a few euros from his pocket, setting them on the counter before Sabine could protest, and then walked over to meet Marinette by the door.

“Hey,” she said, hitching her backpack on her shoulder. “Could we eat somewhere else?”

“That’s fine with me.” Adrien opened the door for Marinette, following her onto the street. “Do you have anything to eat?”

“I’ll steal some of yours. Maman always packs you so much.”

“Does she still complain that I’m too skinny?” Adrien asked, smiling.

“All the time.” Marinette smiled, glancing up at Adrien. She looked exhausted. Despite the makeup she was wearing, Adrien could see the dark circles under her eyes. Her posture was more slouched than usual, and she didn’t have her signature lightness in her step.

“Hey, did you get any sleep last night? You seem kinda tired,” Adrien noted, bracing himself for any reaction Marinette would give.

“I got enough. I had some coffee this morning. I’ll be fine.” Marinette wrapped her arms around her middle and fell silent, turning and heading on the path to the park.

Adrien kept pace with her. “If you just didn’t sleep well last night, you could have told me.”

“That’s not-” Marinette cut herself off and sighed. “I told you, you wouldn’t understand. I’m fine. I just need a few days and I’ll be back to normal.”

“Are you sick?” Adrien asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She immediately flinched away from him, one hand sliding up her arm as if to protect herself and glancing at Adrien, alert. She looked back at the ground immediately after, hunching her shoulders.

“Sort of. I guess. I’m just working through something, okay? I’d rather we not talk about it.”

“Sorry. I didn’t realize.” Adrien shifted his bag on his shoulder. “I just, is it okay if I say one more thing?”

“I guess.”

“Sabine was talking to me. She’s really worried about you. She said you were missing last night.”

Marinette sighed, and didn’t respond at first. Adrien thought she wasn’t going to say anything at all, but eventually she said, “I wasn’t doing anything bad. I was . . . I was talking to a friend. He was trying to help me figure out something.”

“Oh.” Adrien took his time thinking of what to say, trying to phrase his words in a way that wouldn’t upset Marinette. “I’m happy you were somewhere safe, I am. Maybe next time just tell your parents? I think they’d understand you talking to a friend.”

“But I can’t tell them who it is,” Marinette grumbled, covering her mouth with her hands and glancing up at Adrien, eyes wide. “I didn’t say that. Forget it.”

“Mari, what are you talking about?” Adrien knew he shouldn’t be pushing her, but now he was worried and even more confused. “Your parents won’t care-”

“I said forget it!” she snipped, folding her arms across her chest. They’d arrived at the park, so she stepped off the sidewalk and headed towards their usual tree. Adrien followed a few steps behind, trying to process what was going on. She was hiding something, which made him nervous. They hardly ever lied to each other, and she never lied to her parents.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Adrien said as they sat down beneath a tree. “I won’t push it. But if you want to talk about anything, I’m here.”

“I know.” Marinette tilted her head back, looking up through the leaves of the tree. “But I’ll be fine.”

Adrien leaned against the bark, opening the bag from the bakery and offering a sandwich for Marinette. She took it, taking a small bite and holding it in her lap. Adrien smiled. “I believe you. I just want you to be safe.”

“I promise, I am.”

They finished eating without talking, the only sounds the chatter of people walking past and the wind in the trees. When they’d finished eating, Adrien pulled a book out of his bag to pass the rest of the lunch break. After a few minutes reading, Marinette leaned against Adrien’s shoulder, and Adrien suddenly realized she was crying. He set his book down and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice breaking halfway through.

“It’s okay,” Adrien said, holding her closer. “It’s okay.”

 

Coccinelle leaned against the railing on the top of the Eiffel Tower, looking out over Paris. Chat was a few minutes late for their patrol, but he didn’t mind. It gave him time to think. For most of the day, he’d been thinking about Marinette. Something was wrong with her, but she was refusing to talk about it. She was having uncharacteristic mood swings, but it almost seemed like it was out of her control. Mostly, she seemed upset, and Adrien hated seeing her that way.

Coccinelle heard Chat landing behind him, and turned to face her. She clipped her baton on her back, smiling at Coccinelle. “Hey, sorry I’m late. I had to make sure my parents were asleep.”

Coccinelle glanced back at her, returning her smile. “No problem. How are you doing today?”

Chat shrugged, walking over to join him by the railing. “I’m doing better now than I was this morning.”

“Right, you used cataclysm. You didn’t have to use it today. I know that makes it worse.” Coccinelle leaned his elbows on the railing, looking back over the city. “We’ll work around it until you feel ready to use it again.”

“What do you mean we didn’t need it today?” Chat looked at him in disbelief. “The akuma was going to suffocate you. What was I supposed to do when you passed out?”

Coccinelle scoffed. “I wasn’t going to pass out.”

“You could barely breathe!” Chat huffed and took a few steps away from the railing, her tail lashing back and forth across the ground.

“I would have been fine! My safety is not more important than your well being.” Coccinelle turned to face her and folded his arms across his chest.

“It kind of is. You’re the one who can purify the akuma.”

“That doesn’t make you less important than me. I don’t need your protection.”

“I can’t just sit back and watch you get hurt!” Chat turned away from him, wrapping her arms around herself. “I can’t just do nothing. That hurts me too.”

Coccinelle didn’t know what to say. They’d known each other for days, and he felt the same way, but he didn’t think she’d ever reciprocate the feeling. He took a step forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, and she turned her head to look at him.

“Look, I’m not going to apologize for it, okay? It’s my job to protect you. That’s what we’re partners for.” Chat reached up her hand and laid it on top of his. “I’m scared you’ll get hurt, and then neither of us will be worth any good.”

Coccinelle smiled. “Thank you,” he said softly. He hugged her, his arms around her shoulders, tucking his head into her neck. “I didn’t realize that’s how you felt.”

Chat hooked her hands over his arms, leaning her head on his. “It’s true. You’re a really important part of my life. I’ll always need my partner.”

“I’ll always be here for you. Whatever you need.” Coccinelle gave her a small squeeze. “That’s what partners do.”

Chat lifted her head and sighed, so Coccinelle let her go, taking a step back. “I’m trying to get better,” she said, turning around. “I really am. But I’m worried it’s just going to keep getting worse.”

“Did your kwami say anything?”

“He said that it’s going to take some time, but that I’ll go back to normal.” Chat shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s only been getting worse, and it’s happening so fast.”

“Let’s give it some more time. If he says it’s going to get better, then it will. Our kwamis are ancient. He’s done this before.” Coccinelle smiled. “For now, avoid using cataclysm. That makes it worse, right?”

Chat nodded. “Okay. We’ll do that.” She looked out over the streets, smiling. “We’re here to patrol, right? Let’s go run around the rooftops.”

Coccinelle grabbed his yoyo. “I bet I can go faster than you this time.”

“In your dreams.” Chat ran and jumped off the Eiffel Tower, using her baton to push her forward. Coccinelle followed close behind, not sure where they were running to but not caring, either. He caught up with his partner and fell into step beside her, watching her more than the obstacles ahead. He knew she was struggling, but in that moment, Chat was free. She was laughing, her hair flying behind her, soaring through the air as she jumped across gaps between buildings. She seemed happy. If things were as bad as she said they were, then Coccinelle was happy to give her this refuge whenever she needed it.

Chat came to a stop as they reached a rooftop that overlooked a park, looking down at the trees and sighing. Coccinelle stood next to her, leaving her in her silence for a moment, but he noticed she’d lost the joy that had been dancing across her face. She looked tired, weathered, beaten down; she didn’t look like herself.

“Are you okay?” Coccinelle asked, and she only shook her head.

“I should go. I just . . . I need to leave.”

“Sure. Do you need anything from me?”

“Please, you’ve done plenty.” Chat grabbed her baton, ready to leave. “I really need to go home.”

“Okay. Get some rest.” Coccinelle smiled, watching Chat as she left, her baton launching her forward and across the street. He looked back down at the park and realized it was the one he and Marinette always went to. It was deserted, so he dropped down into it and wandered down the paths. He couldn’t help but remember Marinette’s behavior from that morning. She wasn’t okay, but she wouldn’t talk about it, and it left him at a standstill. Coccinelle sat down on a bench, leaning back and looking up at the sky. He stayed there for a few minutes, surrounded by the sounds of the city. He eventually stood and yawned, knowing it was late and he still had homework to do, and made his way back home.


	4. Open

Marinette won’t answer her phone.

Adrien wouldn’t be as upset as he was over missed phone calls, but she hadn’t come to school, either. She wouldn’t even open his texts. He was trying to give her the space she needed, but it was hard. They went through everything together.

He’d gotten home from school and tried calling her, again, but his phone rang through to her voicemail like it had every other time that day.

“Hi, this is Marinette. I’m sorry I missed your call, but leave a message and I’ll get back to you!”

She sounded happy. Adrien wanted to pretend that she sounded like that now, but he knew she didn’t. Something was wrong but she wasn’t letting him help her, and it was driving him up the wall.

Adrien glanced over at Tikki. She was sitting on his desk and eating a cookie, keeping her energy up in case another akuma attacked. Adrien had been on edge all day, waiting for Papillon to strike again. So far, Paris had been quiet. He was happy for that, but it wasn’t helping him stay calm.

“Tikki,” he said, looking at his kwami, “do you think Marinette’s parents would talk to my father?”

“What do you mean?” Tikki asked, setting her half-eaten cookie down and flying over to be closer to Adrien.

“Well, she won’t talk to me. Maybe her parents would talk to my father because . . . I don’t know.” Adrien ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “I don’t know what I’m saying. He’s never done anything like it before. But maybe if he called them they’d say something, and then I’d know something other than she’s not okay.”

“It certainly couldn’t hurt to try,” Tikki said, smiling. “I think it’s a fine idea.”

“Okay. I think he’s home now. Let’s go ask.” Adrien held open his shirt pocket so Tikki could hide in it and then went down to his father’s office. He took a deep breath, then knocked on the door. “Father?”

“Come in, Adrien,” Gabriel said, so Adrien opened the door and took a few steps into the room.

Gabriel set down his pencil, looking up at his son. “Is something wrong?”

“Yeah. I mean, not with me, but with Marinette.” Adrien paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. Tikki rested comfortingly against his chest, urging him on. “She’s not telling me what’s wrong, but I know something is. I can’t get ahold of her. Could you call her parents? Maybe they’d tell you something.”

“I appreciate your concern for Marinette, but I fail to see what this would accomplish.” Gabriel looked at Adrien for a moment, then reached for his phone. “I’ll call them and see what I can do.”

“Thank you,” Adrien breathed, walking closer to the desk. Gabriel set his phone on speaker and put it down. He folded his hands to wait while the phone rang. Each ring made Adrien more anxious until someone finally answered.

“This is the Dupain-Chengs,” came Sabine’s familiar voice, and Adrien’s whole body relaxed. She would say something. He was sure of it.

“Hello, Sabine,” Gabriel said. “I hope you’re doing well. I’m calling because Adrien has expressed some concerns to me about Marinette.”

“Ah,” Sabine said simply, her voice colder than before. The line was quiet for a few moments before she spoke again. “What would you like to know?”

“Candidly, it seems like Adrien doesn’t know anything. Any details you’d be willing to tell me would make him feel a lot better.” Gabriel looked at Adrien, an eyebrow raised. Adrien wasn’t sure what his father was trying to ask, but before he’d had a chance to try to respond, Sabine was talking again.

“I’m sorry, Gabriel, but it’s a private matter. You can tell Adrien that Marinette will be doing better soon.”

Gabriel sighed, taking off his glasses and closing his eyes. “I know I have never shown much concern for your daughter, but I am worried about my son. The two have always been so close, and all of a sudden there is this distance between them. He wants to help her, but he can’t. He is suffering.” Gabriel met Adrien’s eyes again. “Please, one parent to another, give me something to tell him.”

Sabine didn’t say anything right away. Adrien was defeated and about to leave the room when she spoke again, barely louder than a whisper. “I can’t give you any details, but . . . she doesn’t mean to hurt Adrien. I promise that’s the last thing she wants to do, but she’s trying to work through some things right now. She needs to do it alone.” Sabine paused again, briefly this time. “She doesn’t want me saying anything to anyone. Adrien can’t say anything to her.”

“I assure you, he’ll respect that.” Gabriel waited, but Sabine didn’t say anything else. “Thank you for talking to me. Adrien will greatly appreciate it.”

“Take care of that boy, Gabriel. He has a big heart, and I worry you’ll break it someday.”

“He is the most important thing in my life. I will always protect him.” Gabriel smiled--smiled!--at Adrien, and Adrien smiled back in earnest. “Thank you, Sabine.”

“Of course. I care for him too. Is that all?”

“Yes. Take care.”

“You too.”

The line went dead, and Gabriel moved his phone to the side.

“Thank you for calling her.” Adrien didn’t exactly feel better than before--he still didn’t know what was wrong with Marinette--but he at least knew more. It was something to go off of.

“Adrien,” Gabriel began slowly, but before he could say more his phone rang. Adrien recognized the name that came up as one of the head designers at his father’s company. “I can call him back.”

“No, answer it. That’s fine.” Adrien had everything he needed. At least, it was as much as he was going to get. “Thank you for calling Sabine. It was really helpful.”

“Good.” Gabriel picked up his phone. “We’ll talk more later.”

“Okay. Thanks, Father.” Adrien left the office, heading back up to his room. Sabine’s words repeated in his head. She needed to do it alone. Adrien didn’t really know how to step aside and not help her; he’d been protecting her their whole lives. As he got into his room, he let Tikki fly free and turned on the news. His screen was immediately flooded with reports of frozen streets, cars, and people, and an akuma was at the center of it all.

“We should get over there,” Tikki said as she flew over by Adrien, looking at the screen.

Adrien nodded. “Tikki, transformmez-moi!”

In a flash, he was Coccinelle, and he was leaping out his window. He got as close as he dared to the akuma, hiding a few rooftops over to watch what was happening. It was a disaster.

Coccinelle was terrified, to say the least. This akuma was easily as powerful as the last, but it was smarter, too. For now he was distracted with freezing anyone and anything as he pleased, but Coccinelle could tell it wasn’t that random. No news reporters were frozen, the rooftops stayed safe to travel on, and the akuma was mostly just making people scream. He was attracting the heroes. Well, one of them, at least. Chat was nowhere to be found. Coccinelle scanned the rooftops once more, but there was no one else hiding atop them. No cat ears poking out, no tail streaming behind her as she ran. He’d have to face this alone.

Coccinelle looked back at the akuma. He was wearing an ice-blue suit, complete with gloves and boots and embellished with icicle patterns and a matching mask. Nothing stood out as the akumatized object, but Coccinelle couldn’t afford to wait any longer. The akuma had begun freezing over the streets, and Coccinelle would have no traction on that ice if that’s where he had to fight.

Taking a deep breath, Coccinelle tossed out his yoyo and hooked it around a street light, swinging down onto the street. The akuma immediately turned to face him, his face blank.

“Hello, Coccinelle,” he said, hands raised as if he was about to strike. “I’m Ice Master. I see your sidekick isn’t around.”

“She’s not my sidekick.” Coccinelle held tightly onto his yoyo. “What do you want?”

“Well, I really need both of your Miraculouses, but for now, yours will do.” The akuma thrust his hands out and ice shot out of them, coating the street and heading straight for Coccinelle. He used his yoyo to pull himself on top of the street light, but now he was cornered. The Ice Master walked closer, frozen clouds forming around his hands. His gloves. Coccinelle realized with a start that that’s where the akuma was hidden, but now he had to figure out how to get close enough to grab them without getting frozen.

All he could do was scramble backwards and try to stay on his feet. Ice Master walked as if he was still on pavement, but Coccinelle was slipping constantly on the ice. He was trying to think of a plan, some way to get out of this mess, but he was running out of time.

Coccinelle’s back bumped against something.

He was trapped, pressed against a building. The akuma was right in front of him, reaching out with his frozen hands. Coccinelle couldn’t run to the side; he’d slip and still be caught. The hero cowered back, covering his head even though he knew it wouldn’t help. All he could think was that he was sorry; he was silently screaming his apologies to his city, his family, Chat. They were lost without him.

Suddenly, someone dropped down from above, standing between him and Ice Master. Coccinelle looked up and Chat was there, baring her baton. He wanted to scream, to push her out of the way, anything, but he couldn’t move. He watched as the akuma lunged forward and Chat swung back. Her baton caught the akuma in the chest, throwing him backwards, but his hands grabbed the weapon. The baton went flying away, quickly freezing over.

“No, no,” Chat said, running across the ice to follow her baton. She slid and fell but kept scrambling forward. By the time she reached her weapon, Ice Master was already on his feet, his eyes on her.

“Chat!” Coccinelle shouted, and all of a sudden he could move again. He threw out his yoyo and caught the akuma’s arms, wrapping them together and yanking. Ice Master shot but missed, ice shooting just past Chat. She pushed herself onto her feet, defenseless but ready to fight.

Ice Master was aiming again, this time towards Coccinelle. He released the akuma’s arms and dove out of the way of the attack, barely in time. Again, the akuma aimed at Chat, but as Coccinelle tried to attack again, he slipped. He slammed into the ground, and he heard Chat shout as she was hit with an ice block. He lifted his head and she was sliding across the ice, face down and otherwise not moving.

“Ice Master!” Coccinelle shouted as he got to his feet, without any kind of plan but determined to keep Chat safe. “Leave her alone. You want me!”

“Papillon said he needs both Miraculouses. Why shouldn’t I go take hers now?” Ice Master was walking towards the hero, making Coccinelle more nervous. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chat trying to push herself off the ground.

“You’d never get it. She wouldn’t let you.” Coccinelle spun his yoyo at his side, but he couldn’t attack. If his yoyo was frozen, they’d all be helpless. “Besides, my Miraculous is more important to you.”

The outline of a butterfly appeared over the akuma’s eyes. He was talking to Papillon. Coccinelle was lying about his Miraculous--he had no idea what Papillon’s plans even were--but it bought him time. He threw up his yoyo and shouted, “Lucky Charm!”

Coccinelle caught a pair of ice skates. He hadn’t skated in years, but wasted no time jamming his feet into them and taking off on the ice-covered streets. Chat was on her feet again, but Coccinelle had the akuma’s attention. He moved fast, barely thinking. Dodge right, dive forward, glide around. He was so close, almost able to grab the gloves, when Ice Master reached out to grab him. He fell onto his knees and laid as flat as possible as he slid past, but he was too slow. Time slowed down. A frozen hand approached his face. He fell onto his side to get further away, but it slowed him down even more. He wouldn’t make it. Somewhere behind him, Chat was screaming. He heard her shout, “Cataclysm!” The ground shook. Ice began to crack and turn black. Just before Ice Master reached his hair, the ice below them fell apart. The ground jerked, and the akuma was pushed to the side.

Coccinelle had seconds before it would be too late. He scrambled to his feet and dove over to the Ice Master, grabbing the gloves off of his hands. Still half on the ground, he tore the gloves in half. He grabbed his yoyo and threw it at the escaping akuma, purifying it and setting it free. Chat was approaching him, smiling and proud, but her arms were clutching her middle and there were tears in her eyes. Coccinelle didn’t know if she was hurt or if her cataclysm had caused more damage, but it was time for the Cure. He pulled off his skates and tossed them into the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

The ladybugs did their work, swarming around the street and clearing away ice. People were reanimated, Chat’s baton was restored, and the akuma was changed back into a man, but the swarm never touched Chat. Coccinelle knew that meant she was hurting from using Cataclysm.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” he said, walking closer to her. “I should have been more careful.”

“This is my job. To protect you.” Chat wiped tears away. “I should have been here sooner.”

“We still won.” Coccinelle glanced back at the man, who was rising to his feet, clearly disoriented. “I can take care of this. Do you want to go?”

“Yes,” Chat said softly, hanging her head. “I’ll meet you tonight, Eiffel Tower. In two hours?”

“Okay. I’ll see you then.” Coccinelle watched Chat recover her baton before turning back to the victim. The sun was setting, lighting up the sky in countless shades of pink and orange. The street was relatively calm, but Coccinelle could hear sirens approaching. His earrings beeped, reminding him of his job. He approached the victim, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. If you’re here, that means I was an akuma?” The man wrang his hands, clearly upset.

“You were,” Coccinelle confirmed, squeezing the man’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault. Papillon preys on people to spread terror.”

“Did I hurt anyone?”

“Everyone’s fine now.” Coccinelle didn’t want to tell the man, Yes, you did, you froze dozens and nearly killed me, but he couldn’t lie, either. His earrings beeped again, but paramedics were arriving now, rushing over to them. “Remember, this is Papillon’s doing, not yours.”

“Okay,” the man said meekly, and then the paramedics took over, wrapping him in a shock blanket and guiding him somewhere quieter. Police filed in next, holding back crowds and reporters. He waved and cameras flashed, and then he was off, using his yoyo to fly up to the rooftops and across the streets. He took a roundabout way home to make sure no one followed before slipping into his room.

He detransformed and caught an exhausted Tikki in his hands. “That was a close one,” she said, frowning. “If Chat hadn’t been there, we would have been in trouble.”

“I know.” Adrien sat down in his desk chair, setting Tikki down and grabbing a tin of cookies for her. “I’m worried about her. It’s like her Cataclysm is physically hurting her. Is that normal?”

“It happens sometimes. The Cat Miraculous is very powerful, but unlike yours, it can be hard on the chosen. I have never had a problem with my heroes adapting, but Plagg has seen this before.”

“Plagg?”

“Chat’s kwami,” Tikki clarified. “He knows that sometimes this happens, but it doesn’t mean Chat isn’t suited for the Miraculous. It’s just a lot of bad luck to get all at once. I don’t know exactly why Cataclysm makes it worse, but I know that even just transforming can be damaging.”

Adrien wasn’t feeling any better from this explanation. “Is it like this forever?”

Tikki shook her head. “After a few uses, the user always adapts. Plagg knows how it usually goes and is there to talk them through it. Chat will be feeling better soon. It nevers lasts much longer than this.”

“That’s good.” Adrien rested his elbow on the desk and his chin in his hand. He couldn’t imagine what his partner was dealing with, but he could only hope she got better soon.

Tikki suddenly flew into Adrien’s pocket, someone knocking on the door immediately after.

“Adrien?” It was Gabriel, speaking softly. “Could we talk for a moment?”

“Yeah, one second.” Adrien shoved the tin of cookies back into his desk drawer and then went to his bedroom door, unlocking and opening it. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, everything’s fine.” Gabriel stepped into the room, straightening his jacket. “I just wanted to check in with you.”

Adrien could feel Tikki in his pocket. He knew she wasn’t visible in anyway, but he was still nervous. Had his father figured it out already, despite all his precautions? “What about, exactly?”

“Marinette. You were extremely worried about her this afternoon, if I remember correctly.”

“Of course. Marinette.” Adrien shrugged. “I mean, I guess I feel better, after hearing what Sabine had to say, but I’m still worried about her.”

Gabriel spoke slowly and calmly. “I do hope she gets better soon. It would be a shame if she became the next person terrorizing Paris.”

“You mean an akuma?” Adrien shook his head. “No. No way. She’s too nice. Marinette could never be a villain. Besides, if Papillon hasn’t gotten her yet, he probably won’t.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “Papillon? You know their names? I didn’t think you were so involved in this . . . chaos.”

“Well, of course.” Adrien scrambled for an excuse. “There’s a supervillain and two superheroes in Paris. It’s the only thing on the news.”

“I would hesitate to call them ’super’ villains or heroes.” Gabriel sighed. “Well, I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Promise me that if something does happen to Marinette, you’ll exercise some caution and not run into danger?”

“If something happens to Marinette I’ll be the first one on the scene. She’s family. I’ll help her, always.”

Gabriel simply nodded. “Good night, Adrien.”

“Night, Father.”

Adrien locked the door again and waited to make sure his father was gone before letting Tikki out of his pocket.

“That was peculiar,” she said, settling down onto his desk. “Is your father always like that?”

“Not always,” Adrien said, pulling out Tikki’s cookies again. “He’s been getting better lately. And he was never like that when Mom was around.”

Tikki nodded, taking a bite out of a cookie. “How long has she been gone?”

“Almost three years. I think that’s why he’s so upset, actually. It’ll be exactly three years in a week.”

“I’m sorry to her that, Adrien. What happened to her?”

“We don’t know. She was there one night and gone the next morning.” Adrien sighed, sitting on his bed. “I don’t think Father ever stopped looking for her. He took it really hard, so I spent a lot of time with Marinette’s family. Mom knew her parents, so Marinette and I have always been close.”

“Well, that explains why you’re so worried about not being able to help her.” Tikki flew over to Adrien, giving him a supportive smile. “She helped you at your hardest time.”

“And I don’t want to lose her, too. I can’t lose her.” Adrien held out his hands so Tikki could sit on them. “She means the world to me, Tikki.”

“I know she does. And she knows it, too, I’m sure of it.” Tikki reached out to pat Adrien’s nose. “She’ll be okay.”

“You think so?”

“I do. She has you on her team, after all.”

Adrien smiled. “Thanks, Tikki.” He set her back down on the desk so she could eat and grabbed his phone. He still had an hour and a half before he needed to meet Chat, and he didn’t have any more homework to do. He wasted the time on his phone, watching TV, and chatting with Tikki, eventually just deciding to go early.

Adrien looked up at Tikki. “Are you ready?” When she nodded, he called, “Tikki, transformmez-moi!”

Now Coccinelle, he slipped out the window, and headed over to the Eiffel Tower. He was early, but so was Chat; he saw her sitting on the railing as he approached. He landed on the deck behind her, and she turned to face him.

“Hi. Thanks for meeting me.” Chat hopped off the railing. She smiled, but it didn’t really reach her eyes.

“Of course. Are you okay?” Coccinelle looked at his partner, and he already knew her answer. She didn’t look okay. She looked exhausted, and hurt, and defeated.

“Not really.” Chat took a deep breath. “Could we talk somewhere else? Somewhere more private? I don’t want all of Paris watching us.”

“Sure.” Coccinelle followed after Chat as she led him across the rooftops, and they ended up on top of a dark building, across the street from Marinette’s home. Chat sat down on a ledge, and Coccinelle sat next to her.

“Coccinelle, my Miraculous is hurting me,” Chat said softly, hands folded in her lap. “It’s only getting worse. My kwami promise it would get better, but it’s not.”

“My kwami said the same thing. You’ll be okay soon.” Coccinelle looked over at her, but she kept her eyes locked on the ground.

“I’m so sorry,” Chat said, hanging her head. “I love being a hero. I love being your partner.” She glanced up at him with a sad smile. “I love you. But my Miraculous is killing me.”

“Chat,” Coccinelle breathed, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I need you. You’re my partner. I’d be dead without you.”

“I’ll be dead if I keep this up.” Chat let out a long breath, the weight of the world on her shoulders. “Every time I transform, I get worse. I’ve been awful to my parents. I think my best friend hates me.” She looked at her partner, defeated. “Coccinelle, I can’t do this.”

Coccinelle couldn’t think of the right thing to say. What was someone supposed to say in a situation like this? “You were chosen to have this miraculous,” he said softly. “Out of everyone in Paris, you were picked. You’re an amazing hero.” He squeezed her shoulder. “I want to support you. I don’t want you to have to give this up because you feel alone.”

“That’s not the problem. You’ve been amazing, really. But you don’t understand how much this is hurting me.” Chat placed her hand over his. “I’m not me. I’m everything I never wanted to be and I don’t know how to fix it, but I can’t be Chat anymore.”

“I understand.” Coccinelle knew there was no changing her mind. “I will stand by you, always. Are you sure?”

There was a flash of green light, and then Marinette was sitting in front of him. Marinette. His very best friend. A black kwami was hovering in front of her face, arguing with her. Marinette was Chat. All Coccinelle could do was stare as she fought with her kwami.

“I’m telling you, you’re not going to get better unless you adjust to it, and you can’t adjust if you don’t even have the miraculous!”

“Plagg, stop! I told you, I can’t. I’m sorry.” Marinette held up her hands, and Plagg sat down on them, folding his little arms. “You’ve been amazing. I wish I could stay with you, but you know I can’t.”

“I know that you are worthy of this miraculous, and I know that you are strong enough to handle it.” Plagg tapped Marinette’s ring. “This is yours.”

The ring. Marinette had never worn a ring before, had she? Coccinelle hadn’t noticed, but he hadn’t seen much of her, either. He looked at her hands and all of a sudden he remembered. She had been wearing the ring since he’d gotten his ears pierced. She’d been there, holding his hand the whole time, and he remembered feeling the cool metal against his fingers. It was just a simple silver band and he hadn’t thought anything of it. His earrings were just black studs when he was detransformed, so of course Chat’s ring would be different, too. Marinette’s ring.

Marinette was holding her kwami closer to her face, smiling as he tapped her nose. She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, then glanced back at Coccinelle. “Will you take care of him? He’ll be in the ring, so I guess you could take him back to the Guardian, or keep him with you. Just promise he’ll be safe.”

“Marinette,” Coccinelle said, in disbelief. “I mean, yes, of course I’ll keep your kwami safe. I’ll watch over the ring. But, I can’t believe it’s you.”

“You know me?” Marinette shook her head. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know who you are. It’s not safe for you.” She looked back at Plagg. “This is goodbye, then.”

Although he’d been arguing the whole time he’d been out of the ring, he now didn’t fight back. He patted Marinette’s fingers, then glanced back at Adrien. “I can’t protect her anymore. Promise me you will.”

“Always,” Coccinelle assured the kwami.

“Tikki always picks good ones.” Plagg nodded and looked back at his chosen. “Don’t do anything stupid, kid,” Plagg said, making Marinette smile. She was crying now, silent tears streaming down her face.

“Sorry,” she said once more, and then she took off her ring. Plagg was pulled into it, and Marinette sobbed, covering her mouth. She looked at Coccinelle, helpless.

“You’re okay.” He moved closer so he could hold her. He’d hugged Marinette countless times before, but this time was so much more. She sobbed into his shoulder, clutching her ring in her hand. Coccinelle held her tighter. When she began to calm down, she pulled away.

“Keep him safe,” Marinette said, holding out her ring. Coccinelle carefully took it from her, holding it tightly.

“I will.” He glanced across the street to the bakery. “Can I take you home?”

Marinette nodded, standing up and taking a deep breath. Coccinelle held her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he took them across the street and landed on Marinette’s balcony. When he landed, she didn’t let go; instead, she hugged him, her head buried in his chest.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice muffled. “For being my partner.”

“I’ll always be your partner.” Coccinelle hugged her, resting his head on hers.

Too soon, Marinette sighed, letting go and stepping back. “Be careful, Coccinelle.”

“I’ll be okay. And so will you.” Coccinelle smiled. Marinette waved, turning and dropping through her trap door. He watched where she’d disappeared for several moments, wishing she’d come back. He tightened his fist around her ring before going home, wondering how he was going to survive without her.


	5. Secrets

It was Saturday. Adrien was normally relaxed on Saturdays, but he couldn’t bring himself to focus on anything but the fact that another akuma could show up at any moment. He had back-to-back photoshoots all day and normally he found it easy to pose. He couldn’t focus on modelling when he knew he might have to run at any moment. He frustrated his photographers as he got distracted, and frustrated himself for spending the day anxious.

When he was finally done for the day, he slumped down at his desk, opening his bag so Tikki could fly out with Marinette’s ring. She’d kept it all day so that she could watch it and make sure nothing happened to it. Adrien though that was the safest place for it.

“Are you okay, Adrien?” Tikki asked, setting the ring down on his desk.

“I’m worried when the next akuma’s going to show up,” Adrien admitted. “Is Papillon really not going to do anything today?”

“We can’t predict what he’s going to do next. You should try to focus on other things until you have a reason to worry.” Tikki sat down, looking up at Adrien.

“If I’m not worrying about akumas, I’m worrying about Marinette, and I really don’t want to think about that.” Adrien rested his chin on his hand, pulling out his phone. He had countless emails, but no texts or calls from Marinette. “I have no clue how she’s doing now that she doesn’t have her Miraculous.”

Tikki looked over at the ring. “She’ll be okay. Plagg has gone through this before. If his chosen give up the Miraculous, they don’t get worse after.”

“Will she get better?”

“Maybe. But she won’t fully recover without the Miraculous.” Tikki rose off the desk, approaching Adrien. “She just needs some time.”

Adrien stood up, running hands through his hair. “We don’t have time. Not just because of Papillon. Marinette needs to go to school, and talk to people, not stay boarded up at home.” 

“She’ll be okay.” Tikki smiled. “I know she will. I’ve seen this happen before.”

“I hope so.” Adrien sighed, sitting down on his bed. “I don’t know how to do this.”

Tikki began to speak again, but darted behind the desk just as someone knocked on the door. “Can I come in, Adrien?”

“Yeah,” Adrien said, realizing after he spoke that Marinette’s ring was out on his desk and he hadn’t locked the door. He didn’t have time to hide it and if he ran over to it now, his father would be suspicious. He could only hope Gabriel wouldn’t notice it.

Gabriel stepped into the room, holding something small. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but his eyes snapped to the Miraculous on the desk. Adrien’s heart raced. Gabriel put whatever he was holding in his pocket and walked over to the desk, picking up the ring. “Where did you get this, Adrien?”

He knew. Adrien took a shaky breath, trying to find an excuse. “It’s, um, it’s a ring.”

“I can see that.” Gabriel held it closer to his eyes, inspecting it. “I recognize this.”

“Yeah, it’s like that superhero’s.” Adrien scrambled to put his thoughts together. “I got it as a gift for Marinette since she hasn’t been feeling well. She really likes the heroes.” Wrong answer! his mind screamed. Why did he have to bring Marinette into this? The last thing he needed was Gabriel figuring that part out, too.

“You’re lying to me.” Gabriel closed his hand around the ring. “Clearly, it’s not yours. You aren’t the female vigilante plaguing this city.”

“Of course it’s not mine, why would it be mine?” Adrien got off his bed. He needed to get the ring back. Marinette would need it back and he needed to have it. “Why are you taking it?”

“Do you know what this is?” Gabriel held Adrien’s gaze. He was unnaturally calm. “Where did you find it?”

“What are you talking about? I told you it’s just a gift. It’s a replica.” Adrien wanted to check on Tikki, wanted her to help, but he couldn’t risk being found out.

Gabriel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You are smarter than that. Why are you lying to me?”

“Why do you think I’m lying?” Adrien was officially freaking out. His father knew about the Miraculouses, and he knew enough to be able to tell one apart from any other fake instantly. How?

Gabriel finally paused for a moment, seeming to collect his thoughts. “I want you to sit down, Adrien.”

Adrien didn’t want to sit down. He wanted to scream. He wanted to fight. He wanted the Miraculous back. He sat down anyway. “What’s going on?”

“I know you think those two running around Paris are heroes, but they’re the ones causing the damage.” Gabriel put the ring in his pocket, and Adrien almost shouted out in protest. He forced his mouth to stay shut. Gabriel kept talking. “If they gave up their Miraculouses, there would be no need for the akuma.”

“I don’t understand.” Adrien couldn’t believe his father was on the wrong side. Papillon’s side. “They’re superheroes. They’re protecting us.”

“From who?” Gabriel asked simply.

“Papillon, of course.”

“Who only wants their Miraculouses.” Gabriel looked at Adrien as if expecting him to understand. He didn’t.

“But no one knows what he’s going to do then, Father.” Adrien watched as Gabriel hesitated. He straightened his jacket and his glasses. He looked at Adrien for a long moment.

“Adrien, I’ve only ever wanted to do what was best for you.” Gabriel reached into a pocket and pulled out a locket. Adrien recognized it. Gabriel had carried it around since his wife disappeared, and her picture was inside. “I need you to understand that.”

“Why are you saying that?” Adrien was trying to understand what was going on. He was desperately confused and grasping for an answer. “What’s going on?”

“You wanted to know what Papillon wants.” Gabriel opened the locket, turning it so Adrien could see the small portrait of his mom. “He wants to bring your mother back.”

Adrien shook his head, running his hands through his hair. No. He didn’t just hear that. “You can’t be serious. You’re not . . . You can’t be.”

“I’ve been meaning to tell you from the beginning,” Gabriel admitted, putting the locket back in his pocket.

“From the beginning of what? You terrorizing the city and putting countless innocent people in danger, or from when Mom disappeared? Have you been up to this since then?” Adrien stood, fists balled at his sides.

“I didn’t decide to do it easily.” Gabriel was looking for something else in his pockets. “Now, we need to-“

“Stop!” Adrien shouted, trying to understand. “You haven’t said it.”

“You’re smart, Adrien-“

“Are you guilty that you’re taking advantage of innocent people and forcing them to hurt others? Do you feel bad that you’ve forced two people to take on a world of responsibility just to fight you and protect this city? Is that why you can’t say it?” Adrien was trying not to cry. He was trying to keep his voice steady. He was trying to stay calm. He was trying to get Gabriel to tell him he was wrong.

“I’m Papillon,” Gabriel said simply, and Adrien’s world shattered. He lost all the fight he’d had moments before. His father was the bad guy, had always been the bad guy. “Is that what you wanted so badly to hear?”

Adrien sank back down onto his bed on shaky legs. He felt nauseous. He needed to talk to Tikki but if his father found out about her, he’d take her. There were so many things he wanted to scream, but no words would come out.

Gabriel kept talking. “I want you to help me. If we can get the Ladybug Miraculous, we can get your mother back.” He took a few steps closer and held something out so Adrien could see. “With this, you’ll be as powerful as Coccinelle. You could stop him.”

Adrien looked up and there was another Miraculous in front of him. He wasn’t sure how he could tell, but he knew what it was. “That . . . that’s a brooch.”

“It’s the Peacock Miraculous.” Gabriel held it a little closer, so Adrien cautiously took it from him. “Its powers are mostly defensive, but with an akuma to help, it would be a matter of seconds before this was over with.”

“You want me to fight some innocent stranger and steal his Miraculous?” Adrien looked up at his father. “You want me to do it with a stolen Miraculous? You want me to help the man who has been terrorizing the city for days without rest?”

“I’m asking you to change your point of view.” Gabriel put his hands in his pockets. “We can bring your mom back.”

“Is she . . . is she alive?” Adrien asked, and Gabriel nodded. “How long have you known? How long have you kept me in the dark?”

“I was trying to protect you. I wasn’t sure if I could bring her back, but this-“

“You’ve known she was alive for how long, Father?” Adrien stood, eye to eye with his father.

Gabriel hesitated, but gave in. “Two years.”

The room was spinning. Adrien saw red; anger and hatred and despair. “Get out,” he said in a low voice, challenging. “Get out of my room.”

“It was for your own good,” Gabriel insisted, which only infuriated Adrien more.

“If you cared about me you would have told me the moment you knew where she was! The moment you knew she was alive!” Adrien got closer to his father, fuming. “Get out of my room! Get away from me!”

Gabriel looked like he wanted to say more, but turned and walked back to the doorway. “Think about it.”

“Stay away!” Adrien’s voice cracked as he screamed. His throat was tightening and tears were in his eyes. He locked the door behind Gabriel, and made sure his other door was locked, too.

Tikki had come out of hiding, and was waiting patiently by the desk. When Adrien stopped by her, she asked, “Are you okay?”

“My father is Papillon.” Adrien sank down to the floor, holding onto the edge of the desk. One hand still tightly gripped the Peacock Miraculous. “Papillon has Marinette’s ring, and he stole this one, too.” He placed the brooch up on the desk, and Tikki rushed over to it.

“It’s Duusuu,” she said softly, both hands on the Miraculous. “She’s okay. She’s shaken, but okay.”

“And Plagg? Can you tell how he is?”

“He’s a tough one,” Tikki said, coming down by Adrien and resting on his shoulder. “He’s worried, but I think more about you than himself.”

“I ruined it,” Adrien whispered, fighting tears back. “Gabriel took him. I had to keep him safe, but I couldn’t even do that.”

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t know Gabriel would take the ring.” Tikki rested her head against Adrien’s cheek.

“I should’ve been more careful. I should’ve locked the door, or put the ring away, or done something.” Adrien felt nauseous again, even worse than before. “I need to get out of here.” He stood up, grabbing his school bag. He went to his closet, Tikki still on his shoulder.

“Are you running away?” she asked, but she didn’t sound like she was about to tell him not to.

“I’ve done it before.” Adrien grabbed a second bag, shoving a few changes of clothes and a decent stack of euros inside. He used to have a bag pre-packed, just in case, but things had been going so well. At least, he’d thought so.

“Where are you going to go?” Tikki got off his shoulder, hovering beside him instead.

“Tom and Sabine normally let me stay with them, but if they don’t want to this time, I’ll find someone else.” Adrien zipped up the bag and tossed it onto his shoulder. “Chloe Bourgeois and I used to be friends. Her dad owns a hotel, and he’d probably let me stay a few days.”

“Okay,” Tikki said simply. She went back to the desk, picking up the Peacock Miraculous. “We should bring Duusuu. She’s been in Papillon’s grasp for too long.”

Adrien walked over to Tikki, holding out his hand for her to sit. “She’s your friend?”

Tikki nodded. “We’re not always active together, but we work well together.” Tikki held the Miraculous out to Adrien.

“No. You hold onto it. If something happens, you can get her to safety until I can find you.” Adrien made sure his bags were secure on his shoulders. “Are you ready?”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Tikki held the brooch close to her. She clearly didn’t want to lose another kwami. Adrien felt a pang of guilt, not knowing where Plagg was now.

“Yes.” Adrien held open his school bag, and Tikki flew into her pocket, nestled down deep. He took a deep breath before opening up his door, walking briskly down the stairs.

Gabriel was pacing outside his office, phone held up to his ear. He started when he saw Adrien walking briskly past him. “Where are you going?”

“Don’t pretend like you care now.” Adrien didn’t stop walking. “Don’t try to find me.”

“Should I cancel your shoots?”

“Is that the priority right now? My photo shoots for your stupid magazines?” Adrien stopped for just a moment, facing his father. “I don’t care. I don’t know when I’m coming back.”

“Be safe,” Gabriel said calmly. As Adrien was walking out the door, he heard footsteps following. “Do you have the brooch?”

“No.” Adrien walked faster. He’d only have minutes before Gabriel realized the brooch wasn’t in the house, and he didn’t know what would happen then. He wasn’t going to wait to find out. He rushed down the sidewalks, going straight to the bakery. Gabriel would call and ask anyone who answered if Adrien was there. He always did. Adrien had to convince Sabine and Tom to lie. If Gabriel found out where Adrien was, he’d try to bring him back, and Adrien didn’t want to make him angry. He had to stay hidden. He had to stop Papillon before anything else.

He stepped into the empty bakery. It was almost closing time, but Tom was behind the register, wiping down counters. He looked up at Adrien as he came in. “Hey there. It’s pretty late for you to stop by. What’s up?”

Adrien didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know how much to say. “Can I stay here? Please?”

Tom nodded. “Is it your father again?”

“Yes,” Adrien responded instantly. “I can’t go back.”

Tom gestured at the door that led to the rest of the house. “Of course you can stay. Sabine is making dinner right now. I’ll be up in a few minutes, I’ve just got to close things up down here.”

“Thank you,” Adrien said. “I promise, I won’t stay that long.”

“It’s no trouble. If anything, it’ll be good to have you around.” Tom waved as if shooing Adrien away. “Go on upstairs.”

“Thank you,” Adrien repeated, heading up to the rest of the house. Sabine was in the kitchen, stirring something at the stove as Adrien came upstairs. She looked over at him in surprise.

“Adrien, we weren’t expecting you,” she said. She glanced at his bags, then back at his face. “Is your father . . . ?”

Adrien only nodded.

“Go ahead and set your things down in the living room. You’ll have to stay on the couch, but you can stay as long as you need.” Sabine set down her spoon, looking up at Adrien. “I’ll be done in just a few minutes, and when Tom comes up, we can all talk, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks, Sabine. I really appreciate it.” Adrien put his bags down at the side of the living room, out of the way. His phone vibrated in his pocket. As he pulled it out, his stomach dropped. His father had simply texted, “Where is it?”. Adrien put his phone away, sitting on the couch. He’d deal with that later. 

Tom came through the door, glancing at Adrien before approaching Sabine. They spoke in whispers too quiet for Adrien to hear for several minutes. Adrien could tell they were arguing, but he had no clue what about.

When they finally came into the living room, Sabine sat next to Adrien while Tom stood facing them.

“Adrien, is there anything you want to talk about?” Sabine said, her voice soft. She asked him that every time he ran from Gabriel. It had been awhile since he’d last done this, but the words were familiar.

“You can’t tell my father I’m here. He’ll take me back and I can’t go home.” Adrien hoped Sabine would agree with him. Normally, if Gabriel called, Sabine would tell him that Adrien was at the bakery and okay. He was terrified that Gabriel would drag him back to the mansion this time.

“Can you tell us why?” Sabine asked, which was normally her next question when he said he didn’t want to go home. Normally, Adrien would tell her.

“I’m scared,” Adrien said, trying to convince them without telling the truth. “I’m scared he’s going to hurt someone.”

“Do you think he’ll hurt you?” Sabine’s voice was still gentle, and Adrien couldn’t tell if she believed him yet.

“Yes.” Adrien spoke so quietly he could barely hear himself, but it was true. Papillon tried to hurt Coccinelle almost every day, and now that Adrien had stolen the brooch, he didn’t know how Gabriel would react. “I think he will.”

“Then we won’t tell him you’re here,” Tom said, patting Adrien’s shoulder. “Your safety is the priority.”

“Thank you,” Adrien breathed, looking up at Tom.

“We should address . . .” Sabine said to Tom, nodding her head towards Marinette’s room.

“Can I talk to her? I know she doesn’t want to, but it’s really important.” Adrien glanced between the two, hoping they’d say yes.

Sabine sighed. “Adrien, I know she’s normally the one you talk to, but she doesn’t want visitors right now.”

“I know, and I don’t want to seem rude. I’m worried about her, but I don’t need to ask about whatever’s going on.” Adrien took a deep breath. He hated lying, but he was going to do whatever it took to talk to Marinette. They had to talk. “This isn’t about that.”

Sabine looked at Tom again, who only shrugged. “I’m sorry. I know this isn’t easy for you.”

Adrien couldn’t understand why they were keeping him away. He was the only one who could help Marinette, and they were holding him back. “Please, I need to see her,” he said, searching Sabine’s eyes for any sign of understanding.

“We can’t do that. I thought Gabriel told you she needs to do this alone.” Sabine put her hand over Adrien’s. “I’m sorry.”

Adrien had to see Marinette. Why didn’t her parents understand? Why were they isolating her?

Suddenly, it made sense. They knew she was Chat. They had to. That was the only way they’d let her miss so much school and stay so alone.

“Did she tell you?” he asked softly. “Is that why you won’t let me see her? Because you think I don’t know.”

“Is he talking about . . .” Tom trailed off, looking at his wife.

“She only told one other person,” Sabine said, glancing at Tom and then back at Adrien.

“Me. She told me.” Adrien decided to take a risk and hope they were talking about the same thing. “I’m Coccinelle.” He scrambled over to his school bag, opening it and looking at Tikki. She looked back at him with wide eyes, but nodded, setting the brooch down carefully. Adrien held out a hand for her to rest on, and then turned to face Sabine and Tom. “She had a kwami, too, right? One that looked like a cat?”

“She did,” Tom said, staring incredulously at Adrien. “You’re the other superhero?”

Adrien nodded, looking at Sabine. “Let me see Marinette. Please.”

Without hesitating, Sabine jumped up and pulled Adrien into a tight hug. “Oh, Adrien, you poor boy,” she said softly. He felt Tom’s arms around them both, and tears stung his eyes. “Of course you can see her,” Sabine continued, stroking his hair.

Adrien pulled back, taking a deep breath. “Could I see her now? It’s really, I really need to.”

“Does she know?” Tom asked, one hand on Sabine’s shoulder.

“No. But I’m going to tell her.” Adrien held Tikki up so he could look at her. “If I’m going to help her, she needs to know.”

“Go ahead, Adrien.” Sabine smiled, and Adrien stood, letting Tikki go.

She grabbed the Peacock Miraculous from Adrien’s bag, flying into Adrien’s pocket and settling out of sight. With one last glance at Sabine and Tom, he went towards Marinette’s room.

As Adrien walked up the stairs, he could hear Marinette’s sewing machine running. Of course she’d be sewing. He smiled to himself, stopping at the top of the stairs and knocking. “Marinette? It’s me.”

The machine fell silent, and for a few moments, nothing happened. Then he heard her footsteps crossing the room. The door cracked open, and Marinette was kneeling beside it, looking down at him.

She looked sick. There were dark bags under her eyes, and her face was pale and dull. Her hair was in a bun on her head, but Adrien could tell she needed to brush and wash it. She was wearing sweatpants and an old Jagged Stone t-shirt; both were wrinkled and she probably hadn’t changed out of them in a while. When she saw him, her expression changed until she looked near tears. “Hi, Adrien,” she said softly. Her voice was rough from overuse. She’d probably been crying.

“Can I come up?” he asked, and when she nodded, he pushed the trap door all the way open. Marinette stood to give him room as he climbed the stairs, standing to face her. “I have something to tell you.”

Marinette didn’t wait to find out what it was. She dove at him, wrapping her arms around his middle. “I’m so sorry,” she said, and now she was crying. “I’m sorry for lying and I’m sorry for being mean to you and I’m sorry for pushing you away.” She held on tighter. “Adrien, I messed up. I really messed up.”

“It’s okay,” Adrien reassured, hugging Marinette tightly. “I forgive you.”

Marinette held onto him as if her world would fall apart when she let go, head buried in his shoulder. Adrien had missed her since she’d started avoiding him, but now he realized how much he really depended on her. They were together, and for that moment, everything was right. It didn’t matter that they had double lives to lead.

After a long while, Marinette sighed and pulled back from him. “We need to talk,” she said. “It’s important.”

“Let’s sit down,” Adrien suggested, heading over to Marinette’s chaise.

Marinette grabbed a thermos from her desk before joining Adrien, sipping from it as she walked over. Adrien recognized the smell — it was tea, the special kind Sabine made for Marinette when she was sad or upset.

“I don’t want to lie anymore,” Marinette said as she sat on the chaise, her knee brushing against Adrien’s. “I want to explain everything. Promise you won’t freak out.”

“Marinette, I know,” Adrien tried to confess, but she only shook her head.

“You don’t know it all, I promise. Just let me say this, okay?” Marinette looked at him, and he smiled, letting her continue. “I’m . . . well, I was . . . it’s a long story, but I’m Chat. The superhero. That’s why I’ve been so weird lately.”

“I know. You told me.” Adrien wanted Marinette to figure it out herself. He hoped that maybe it would be less of a shock that way. She only stared blankly at him.

“I’ve only told my parents and one other person,” she insisted. “I just- I haven’t told you before. I haven’t talked to you at all.”

“But we have been talking, a lot.” Adrien placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m Coccinelle.”

Marinette looked at him incredulously, then laughed briefly, covering her mouth with her hand. “No. You can’t be.” She looked him up and down, shaking her head. “That would be too good to be true, right?” Her eyes met his, and she gasped. “Are you- are you serious?”

Adrien opened his pocket. Tikki came out slowly, still holding onto the Peacock Miraculous. “Hi, Marinette,” she said cheerily, smiling.

Marinette looked between Tikki and Adrien, a smile spreading across her face. “It’s you. It’s- it’s been you this whole time.” She placed her hand on his cheek, as if reassuring herself he was really there. “I’m so glad it’s you.”

“Me too.” He smiled, enjoying their moment of happiness. It couldn’t last long. “How are you doing?”

“I can think again, without the ring. It’s like I finally have my mind back to myself, but I’m still not me.” Marinette sighed, sipping her tea. “Plagg was right. I thought I could get better if I didn’t have the ring at all, but I’m not going to.” She shook her head. “But I can’t be Chat again. Not yet.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Adrien reassured her. He tried to find the words to tell her he didn’t have her ring, but she beat him to it.

“Did you bring Plagg?” Marinette asked, glancing at his hand as if expecting him to be wearing the ring. “I want to talk to him.”

Adrien glanced at Tikki, who only nodded, holding onto Duusuu even tighter. “We have a lot to talk about,” he said. “Are you sure you want to do this now?”

Marinette hesitated, her smile faltering. She sighed, took another sip of her tea, and then nodded. “I’m done hiding. We need to do something about Papillon.”

Adrien took a deep breath, and then he began explaining. How his mother was alive, and Gabriel had known for so much time; how Gabriel became Papillon so he could bring his wife back; how Gabriel had stolen Plagg but given him Duusuu. He apologized over and over, and while Marinette’s face fell, she didn’t say anything. She kept listening. So Adrien talked about Gabriel’s plans, how he wanted Adrien to join his side and steal the last Miraculous, how Gabriel had promised he would stop wreaking terror once he had the Ladybug Miraculous.

When Adrien finished, Marinette sat quietly. She was staring at a point on the ground, processing. She slowly set her thermos on the ground, and when she sat back up, she looked at Adrien. “I’m sorry,” she said softly, taking his hand. “I’m sorry your father is being horrible, and I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you.” She squeezed his hand. “We’re going to get through this.”

“Aren’t you mad I lost Plagg?” Adrien asked. He’d imagined a lot of outcomes, but he never imagined she’d be so calm.

“Honestly, I’m a little upset, but not at you. You were living with Papillon and neither of us knew it. It’s not your fault.” Marinette sighed. “We just have to get him back before Gabriel gets your Miraculous.”

“There might be a way to stop him,” Tikki said, approaching Marinette and holding out the Peacock Miraculous. “Adrien will need a partner.”

“You want me to use that Miraculous? Is that even possible?” Marinette glanced at Adrien, who was just as confused as her. Tikki hadn’t said anything before.

Tikki nodded. “It won’t be as good of a match as you and Plagg, but Duusuu has been evaluating since we got here. This was her idea.”

“You can talk to her right now?” Marinette looked at the brooch, and then back at the kwami. “Can you talk to Plagg?”

“It’s not quite talking,” Tikki clarified, “but I can communicate with Duusuu because she is so close. As for Plagg, he’s okay. We are connected and he will let me know if he’s in trouble.”

Marinette nodded slowly. “We need to save him.” She looked at Adrien. “We need to stop Papillon.”

“I’m not going to force you to do anything. You just said you don’t want to be Chat right now.” Adrien glanced at Tikki. “We can handle it if you don’t want to be a hero yet.”

“Can I see the brooch?” Marinette said, looking at Tikki again.

The kwami placed the Miraculous in the girl’s hand. “Marinette,” Tikki said slowly, carefully choosing her words, “you are an amazing hero. Plagg was very proud of you, and we will get him back so you can embrace your powers. In the meantime, Duusuu is a loyal companion.” Tikki patted the brooch. “She works well with me, and our users do, too. She would love to meet you.”

Marinette looked at Tikki, eyes wide, before glancing at Adrien.

“I know it’s a lot to ask,” Adrien added, “but it’s going to be hard to take down Papillon. If you’re willing, Duusuu could be really helpful.”

Marinette looked back at the brooch, sitting silently for several moments. Cautiously, she nodded, and there was a flash of bright purple light.

A vibrant blue kwami floated in front of them, a huge smile on her face and a large peacock tail fanning out behind her. “Hi, Marinette,” she said. “I’m Duusuu. I’m so happy to meet you.”

“Hi,” Marinette said softly, glancing at Adrien before looking back to the kwami. “We’ve got a lot to talk about, huh?”

Duusuu nodded. “Don’t worry. We’ll fix everything right up.” She tutted, looking at Marinette. “But, dear, you look exhausted. We can sort everything out tomorrow.”

“She’s right. You need to sleep,” Adrien said, resting a hand on Marinette’s shoulder.

Marinette nodded. “Okay. I’m going to go talk to my parents. I’ll be right back.” She stood up, looking at Duusuu. “Thank you for helping us.”

Duusuu smiled, and Marinette went down the stairs. Adrien looked at his own kwami.

“She seems okay,” he said. “Better than before.”

“She’s sick,” Duusuu said, looking at Tikki. “Have you not said anything?”

“Said what?” Adrien looked between the two. “What is she talking about, Tikki?”

“It’s what I’ve been telling you, Adrien. She needs to adjust to Plagg’s bad luck.” Tikki looked at Duusuu, folding her arms. “Sick is another term for it.”

“I forget that you don’t tell them everything.” Duusuu shrugged. “Well, once we get Plagg back he’ll be able to fix everything, so don’t you worry, Adrien. She’ll be okay. In the meantime, I’ll be here to make sure she doesn’t get worse.”

“Having a kwami at all can help Marinette,” Tikki clarified. “We’re magic beings. Duusuu will be able to make sure Marinette stays strong.”

“Are you going to tell her this?” Adrien looked at Duusuu. “This seems important.”

“Tomorrow. She needs to rest.” Duusuu smiled.

Marinette came back up the stairs, carrying Adrien’s bags. “Hey. I figured you’d want these.”

“Am I staying up here?” Adrien got up to help Marinette, taking his things from her. “Your parents said I should stay on the couch.”

“That’s before they knew you were a superhero. I am not letting you sleep on a couch.” Marinette smiled at the kwamis. “There’s a bakery downstairs. I don’t know what you like to eat, but you’re welcome to any of the leftovers from today.” She glanced at Adrien. “Plagg liked cheese. It was weird, but so was he.”

“Thanks, Marinette,” Tikki said. “Do your parents know we’re here? Or should we stay hidden?”

“They know.” Marinette watched the two fly down to the bakery, then turned back to Adrien. “Do you want to go change? I’ll be up on my bed if you want to come sit with me.”

“Sure. I’ll be right there.” Adrien watched Marinette head up towards her loft, then grabbed pajamas out of his bag and went to Marinette’s bathroom to change. When he came back out, their kwamis were sitting on the chaise, talking excitedly. He smiled as he passed them and then went up by Marinette. She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, looking at her phone.

“Hey,” he said, sitting at the other end of the bed and facing her. “How are you doing? We threw a lot of stuff at you today.”

“I’m okay.” Marinette set her phone down, looking up at Adrien. “I’m a little nervous, but I’m more worried about you.” She raised her eyebrows. “It’s okay for you not to be okay, Adrien. Your father’s Papillon. No one would be okay if they found that out.”

Adrien looked away from her, running his hand through his hair. Truthfully, he hadn’t fully processed that yet, nor had he really accepted his mom was alive. He sighed. “I’m working through it. It’s a lot to think about.”

“Tomorrow?” she suggested.

Adrien smiled. “Yeah. Tomorrow.” He crawled forward so he could lay down next to her, resting his head on her pillows. “I missed you.”

“Me too,” Marinette laid next to him, looking up at the ceiling. “Adrien, I’m really scared.”

He looked over at her. “I know. I am, too.”

Marinette rolled onto her side so she could face him. “I miss Plagg. He was annoying and loud and stubborn, but he cared about me.” She sighed. “I messed up.”

“We’ll get him back. I’m not going to let Gabriel get away with this.” Adrien smiled, and Marinette scooted closer, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Thank you,” she said softly, closing her eyes. “You’re too good.”

Adrien didn’t know how to respond at first. He wrapped his arms around her waist, grateful she was back in his life. “You’re my best friend. Nothing’s too good for you.”

Marinette giggled. “You always say that.”

“It’s true.” Adrien leaned his head against hers. She didn’t respond, and within a few minutes, her breathing had slowed and steadied out. She was asleep. Adrien smiled, closing his eyes, grateful his best friend was back at his side.


	6. Rebuilding

Adrien woke up to rain on the roof and gray light filtering through the skylight. It took him a moment to remember he was in Marinette’s room. She was still asleep, breathing lightly with her head on his shoulder. He watched her for a moment, happy she looked so at peace for the first time in a long time, before carefully shifting out from under her. He rested her head back down on the pillows so she could continue to rest.

He heard the two kwamis talking softly down below. Adrien stretched his arms briefly, and then made his way down from the loft. The kwamis were sitting on Marinette’s desk, and Tikki glanced at him as he came down.

“Good morning, Adrien.” Tikki smiled. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did.” Adrien sat down in the desk chair. “Which is kind of surprising, considering everything that happened.”

Duusuu smiled as if she knew some secret the rest of them didn’t. “You needed your rest. Is Marinette still asleep?”

“Yeah. She seemed pretty tired.” Adrien reached for his phone, checking his messages.

“You two are close. I see why Tikki and Plagg chose you.” Duusuu nodded, glancing up at the loft.

Adrien glanced back at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tikki sighed. “It’s not something to bother yourself with, Adrien. There are more important things at hand.” She flew closer, looking at Adrien’s phone. “Has your father called?”

Adrien scanned the screen. He’d gotten plenty of emails, but nothing from Gabriel. “No. He’s silent.” Adrien set his phone down again. “I’m not sure about this plan. The second he sees someone else has the Peacock Miraculous, he’s going to freak out.”

“He can’t harm me, I promise you that.” Duusuu rose from the desk, arms outstretched as she presented herself. “I’m the kwami of protection, the same that Tikki is creation and Plagg is destruction. And as long as I’m around, he won’t hurt you, either.”

“What are your powers?” Adrien asked, setting his phone down and leaning back in the chair.

“They’re mostly defensive and good for close combat. My chosen use two fans as their weapon.” Duusuu shrugged. “It’s different from Plagg, but Marinette will adjust, I’m sure. There’s brief flight, of course, and the fans can create an impermeable shield. Papillon’s not strong enough to break it. Oh, and his akuma won’t be able to hurt Marinette, either.”

“What do you mean they can’t hurt her?” Adrien glanced at Tikki.

“She means that the suit and weapons are stronger than mine or Plagg’s,” Tikki clarified. “She doesn’t have a special power like cataclysm, but Papillon’s kwami isn’t stronger than her. Papillon himself may be able to do a little damage, but the akuma are too weak. Marinette shouldn’t have any injuries while fighting.”

“That’s so cool.” Adrien looked back at Duusuu. “And you said flying?”

“For a few seconds, sure. I’m only so powerful, but it works for short distances.” Duusuu looked up to the loft, smiling wide. “Oh, she’s awake.”

“You can tell?” Sure enough, Adrien heard her yawning up above them. A few seconds later, she was walking down from the loft, rubbing her eyes.

“Hey, everyone.” She approached them, tucking stray hair behind her ears. “Have you been up long?”

“Just a few minutes,” Adrien said. “How did you sleep?”

She shrugged. “Better than I have recently.” Adrien doubted that. She didn’t look much better than the day before.

Duusuu shook her head. “You’re still exhausted, dear. Do you want to go rest some more?”

“No, I’m okay.” Marinette smiled, wrapping her arms around her middle. “So, we have a lot to talk about.”

“Yes!” Duusuu flew over to the chaise, where Marinette had left the brooch last night. “I’m sure you know this already, but it’s important you always wear the Miraculous.” She came back to Marinette, holding a small pin. “It’s disguised for you. We don’t want anyone figuring out the secret.”

Marinette took the pin from her kwami. It was a simple, small blue flower. She inspected it for a moment before attaching it to her shirt. “It’s great. You can hardly tell it’s a Miraculous.”

“That’s the goal.” Duusuu nodded, then turned to face the other kwami. “Tikki? Do you want to take over?”

“Sure.” Tikki smiled at the two heroes. “We have a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time. I think the best plan of action is going to be to get some practice in now, before an akuma shows up.”

“That’ll blow our cover. Gabriel will know someone is using the peacock Miraculous.” Marinette rested a hand on Adrien’s shoulder, holding on tightly.

“He’s going to find out soon enough. It’s better for him to find out now and you have some control of your powers instead of when you’re up against an akuma with no experience.” Tikki nodded. “It will also give the Parisians a chance to see you around with Coccinelle, so they’re not worried you’re an akuma, too.”

“That’s a good point.” Adrien glanced up at Marinette. “We should do it. Today. We don’t know when my father’s going to do whatever he’s planning on doing next.”

Marinette bit her lip, staying silent for several moments. “What else is there, Tikki?” she asked, avoiding the topic altogether.

“Well, you need to learn about your powers.” Tikki glanced at Duusuu, then back at Marinette. “But not now. I think Duusuu and I should talk first.”

“Why don’t you grab some food?” Duusuu suggested, flying up to her chosen. “Go get your energy back, and then we can talk some more.”

Marinette nodded, glancing at Adrien. “We can grab some stuff from the bakery.”

“Alright.” Adrien stood up, following Marinette downstairs to the bakery. Marinette began to open the door, but slammed it shut before she went through, pushing Adrien back. “You can’t come through.”

“What? Why?” Adrien looked towards the door, but Marinette only pushed him further away.

“Your father’s here. He’s talking to Maman.” Marinette put her hands on Adrien’s shoulders. “Stay here. I’ll go and grab some food.”

Adrien gripped her arms. “No, don’t. You’re wearing the brooch.”

Marinette nodded. “So? It’s disguised now.”

“He might know you have it. I don’t know how, but he can notice a Miraculous from a mile away. That’s how he got the ring. He never noticed my earrings, but I don’t want to take the chance now.” Adrien pulled her back, away from the door. “If he knows, he’ll know I’m here, and he’ll do anything to take the Miraculouses from us.”

Marinette glanced back at the door. “Papillon is on the other side of this door, talking to my parents, and they don’t know what he’s willing to do to get what he wants.” She pulled her hands back to her chest and covered her brooch. “This is impossible.”

“Let’s just go get some food from the kitchen, okay? We’ll figure it out.” Adrien walked back from the door, and Marinette nodded, coming with him.

Adrien heard Gabriel raise his voice from the other side of the door and froze, staring back where they’d come from.

“I know my son is here, and you have no right to keep him from me.” Gabriel wasn’t quite shouting, but he was missing his usual restraint. “He is still a child. My child, which you seem to have forgotten.”

There was a lull, which Adrien assumed was Sabine or Tom responding. He felt his feet moving him closer to the door, despite how he knew he should be running the other way.

Gabriel was talking softer now, but Adrien could still hear him. “I am not afraid to involve the police in this matter, Sabine. Tell my son he needs to return home.”

“I will if I see him,” Sabine replied calmly. Adrien waited, but he didn’t hear anything else. He glanced back at Marinette, eyes wide.

“He’s, he’s hunting me,” Adrien realized, stepping back from the door. “My father is hunting me.”

Marinette stepped forward, resting her hand on Adrien’s arm. He sighed, overwhelmed, as Tikki came rushing towards them.

“What’s going on? Are you okay?” Tikki flew past Marinette and stopped just in front of Adrien’s face, inspecting him. “Something happened.”

“Gabriel was here,” Adrien explained, poking Tikki so she’d back up.

“Did he see you?” She glanced at Marinette. “Did he see either of you?”

“No,” Marinette assured the kwami. “He doesn’t know.”

“He will if you both don’t calm down.” Duusuu came down towards them, slower than Tikki. “He can sense emotions, remember.”

“Are we not protected from that?” Adrien glanced at Tikki. “Did you just forget to tell me this? It seems really important.”

“Adrien, that’s not what I meant by not telling you.” Tikki sent a pointed glare to Duusuu before looking back at her chosen, expression softening. “There’s a lot you don’t know yet. If I had told you before, you would have constantly been worrying about whether or not Papillon could detect you. It wouldn’t have been productive.”

Adrien knew Tikki was right. She was smart and experienced, much more so than he was. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

Tikki smiled. “Now, you both need to eat, and then we all need to make a plan. You’ll feel better after you’ve had some food.”

They went back up to the apartment in silence. Tikki flew back to Duusuu, lowering her voice so the two teens couldn’t hear them speak. Marinette walked into the kitchen, grabbing a box of cereal and holding it up so Adrien could see. “This okay?”

“Great. Thanks.” Adrien sat down at the counter while Marinette put together two bowls for them. She sat next to him and they ate in silence, their kwamis still whispering by the stairs to her room.

“Do you think we can do this?” Marinette asked, staring down into her cereal. “Defeat Papillon?”

Adrien couldn’t answer her. He didn’t want to lie, and the truth was he wasn’t sure. Marinette waited, but when it was clear he wasn’t responding, she stood and went to clean up her dishes.

“Mari, I’m sorry,” Adrien said softly. “I’m terrified. I don’t know what to say.”

“I know.” Marinette turned to him. “We have to try, but I just keeping thinking, why us? Why me?”

“I don’t know. But there has to be a reason, right? Out of all the people in Paris, it’s us.” Adrien watched Marinette try to smile and fail before turning back to the sink.

“I don’t want to go out before the next akuma. I don’t want him to know someone’s using the Miraculous.” She sighed. “If he sees me, he’s going to try a lot harder to find you. And, really, of all the people you’d give the Miraculous to, he’s going to guess your best friend Marinette. I don’t want to give him the time to think about it all.”

“Okay. Then we won’t.” Adrien walked over to her, setting his bowl in the sink. “You should still talk to Duusuu so you’re not completely unprepared, but if you don’t want to transform yet, then you don’t have to.”

Marinette hugged him, resting her head against his chest. “Thank you.”

Adrien held her close. “You’re my partner. We make the decisions together.”

“Okay.” Marinette pulled back, glancing at their kwamis. “We should go talk to them. Make a plan.”

Adrien nodded, and they went back to the stairs together. The kwamis stopped talking, looking up at them. “We should talk over all the powers first, before you transform,” Duusuu said, smiling at Marinette. “I want to make sure you’re prepared.”

“Actually,” Marinette glanced at Adrien, looking for reassurance, “I’m not going to go out transformed until I have to.”

Duusuu seemed taken aback, frowning. “Are you sure? The benefits of getting some practice in are very substantial.”

“She said no, so we’re not going to.” Adrien folded his arms. “We’re not comfortable doing that.”

“Okay,” Tikki said calmly. “That’s that. Duusuu, you’ll just have to talk Marinette through everything. Perhaps we can discuss a private place to practice.” Tikki smiled at Marinette. “We don’t want to force you into anything.”

“I’m sorry, but I simply don’t agree with this.” Duusuu put her hands on her hips, rising to Marinette’s eye level. “Practicing beforehand will better your chances of defeating any akuma that will arise later. Why wouldn’t you want to do this?”

Marinette scoffed in disbelief. “Are you serious? Did you stop to think what Papillon would assume if he saw someone else with the Peacock Miraculous? Of all the dark-haired girls Adrien knows, who would he give it to?”

“Will coming out later, unprepared, stop him from drawing those conclusions?” Duusuu rebuked, tail fanning out behind her.

“It gives us a chance to distract him with literally anything else. I’m not about to walk out there and out Adrien if I can help it!” Marinette looked at Adrien, her gaze softening when she met his eyes. She shook her head and went up the stairs to her room.

“Duusuu,” Tikki said softly, reaching out to her friend. “You know she doesn’t mean it towards you.”

“I know. She’s sick.” Duusuu took a deep breath. “I’ll leave her be for a little while. You should both stay with her. She’s upset.”

Adrien took that as his invitation to leave, following after Marinette. She was sitting on her chaise, her head in her hands.

“Are you okay?” Adrien asked as he sat down next to her.

“I miss Plagg,” she said softly, looking up at him. “I really miss him.”

“We’ll get him back. I’ll get him back to you, no matter what it takes.” Adrien smiled.

“Promise?” Marinette asked, still clearly doubtful.

“Promise. And, besides, I’m sure Duusuu wants to take a nice long nap somewhere safe.”

“She must hate me.” Marinette sighed. “I don’t know why I . . . I don’t know.”

“She knows. You’re still recovering from Plagg’s magic, Marinette. No one expects you to be perfect, especially not now.” Adrien rested a hand on her shoulder. “She said she understands that.”

Marinette nodded, then put her head back in her hands. “I wish everything would just stop for a little while. I’m tired of worrying about everything.”

“I know. Me, too.” Adrien glanced up at Tikki as she flew into the room.

“Marinette?” she said gently, approaching them slowly. “I hate to rush you, but I think it would be best for you to talk to Duusuu about her powers. I don’t want us to be caught off guard by an akuma.”

Marinette raised her head again. “Okay. That’s okay.”

Tikki nodded, going back down the stairs to get the other kwami.

“I’ll leave you two alone to talk,” Adrien said, standing up. “And then we can stop worrying for a little while, I promise.”

“Thanks.” Marinette gave him a small smile, bringing her legs up onto the chaise and folding them under her.

Adrien grabbed his phone off of her desk and then went up to the loft. He sat on Marinette’s bed and opened a book on his phone to read, and was soon joined by Tikki. She rested on his shoulder, leaning against him.

“Is she going to be okay?” Adrien said, setting his phone down.

“Eventually. She’s gone through quite a lot in these past few days.” Tikki paused, considering. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Okay with what?”

“You’ve been through a lot, too, Adrien. Between trying to take care of Marinette, being a superhero, finding out a lot about both of your parents . . . I worry about you, too.” Tikki patted his shoulder. “You’re a wonderful person, Adrien, but no one’s perfect all the time.”

“I know. I’m managing for now.” Adrien picked up his phone again. “We’ll all be okay, right?”

“Yes.” Tikki settled down, and Adrien started reading again. He didn’t know how long Marinette spent talking to Duusuu, but eventually she joined him up on the loft. Tikki left them alone, and Marinette crawled onto the bed.

She laid down with a sigh, and Adrien knew she’d be asleep in minutes. He leaned back against the wall, focusing on his phone again. He was trying to ignore the fact that his father was out looking for him and Papillon was almost certainly out looking for another victim.

Marinette did fall asleep almost instantly, her breathing deep and even and her face relaxed. Adrien was jealous of her peace, even if it was temporary. He’d had a fitting scheduled and he was skipping it to avoid Gabriel, but he knew that phone calls and emails and more feverish searching would follow. He didn’t want to deal with it. Over the first half hour of the fitting, Gabriel called three times. Adrien let every call ring through to voicemail. He ignored every email and text, despite how his father was clearly getting angrier with each one. Instead, Adrien distracted himself with mindless games, and when he was tired of hearing from his father he turned his phone off.

Careful not to disturb Marinette, he climbed out onto the balcony. It was still drizzling, but he didn’t mind. He sat down in one of her chairs, looking out at the city. After a couple of minutes, Tikki phased through the skylight to join him.

“Are you alright, Adrien?” she asked gently, sitting down on his knee.

Adrien wanted to laugh. “Not really. My father is going to do whatever it takes to find me, and I don’t know what’s going to come next.” He looked at his kwami, brows furrowed. “I don’t know who he is anymore.”

“Sometimes life takes us by surprise. It’s never as simple as anyone wants it to be.” Tikki offered a smile. “You’re smart, Adrien, but more importantly, you’re strong enough to handle this. Do you know why I chose you to be Coccinelle?”

“I thought it was because of me and Marinette.” Adrien held a hand out for Tikki, and she climbed on.

“That’s certainly nice for Plagg and I, but that’s not the reason we chose you.” Tikki patted his thumb. “I chose you for you, not because of anyone else. The Ladybug Miraculous is a powerful one, far more so than you know. If it falls into the wrong hands, it could be used to spread devastation.” She paused, as if collecting her thoughts. “I don’t know if your father really believes he can return your mother to you, but I do know he’s the kind of person who could never wield my Miraculous. He’s not suited for it.” She paused again. “Do you understand?”

“I don’t think so,” Adrien admitted. “People are suited for the Miraculouses?”

“Yes,” Tikki affirmed. “As he stands now, Papillon is far weaker than other wielders of the same Miraculous have been. He is suited for no kwami. Marinette will be weaker with the Peacock Miraculous than she was as Chat. And you, Adrien, are one of the few who can truly harness the powers of the Ladybug Miraculous.” She smiled. “You are smart, caring, empathetic, but most importantly, you are resilient. You’ve faced horrible hardships, but still you rise above it all and it makes you a better person. This Miraculous is not for the weak-hearted,” Tikki pointed at his earrings, “but it is perfect for you.” She rose out of his hand, hovering in front of him. “I’m sure by now you’ve realized there is a lot I haven’t told you, but believe me when I say I know you can defeat Papillon because you are resilient. If he can never make you stay down, you will overcome him.”

Adrien smiled, rubbing Tikki’s head. “Thanks, Tikki. Where would I be without you?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something dark rising up through the sky. When he focused on it he realized it was a thick cloud of smoke. “Do you see that?”

Tikki glanced that way and frowned. “It might be an akuma. I’m sure it’s on the news. We should check.”

“Let’s go.” Adrien set Tikki on his shoulder and dropped back down through the skylight, landing softly on Marinette’s bed. She stirred, blinking up at him.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, sitting up.

“There’s a fire by the Eiffel Tower. I’m going to go see if I can find out anything else.” He jogged down the stairs, sitting at Marinette’s computer. Duusuu was already watching the screen, and Marinette came down to join them. There was a livestream of the damage, a reporter talking in front about a catastrophic akuma. There were fires everywhere. Cars, trees, parks, buildings; but Adrien didn’t see any people set ablaze, at least not yet. Marinette stood behind him, looking at the video.

“This is awful. We need to go.” She glanced over at Duusuu. “Are you up for this?”

“Of course I am.” Duusuu flew up to nuzzle Marinette’s cheek. “Just say the magic words, dear.”

Marinette glanced back at Adrien for a moment, then nodded. “Duusuu, transfommez-moi!”

Watching Marinette transform was surreal. Adrien had done it himself plenty of times, but he could have never imagined how it would look to see the magic engulf someone else. Purple light spread across Marinette’s body until he was left looking at a new hero, green and blue and beautiful. Her suit was teal on top and faded into green, complete with long sleeves and a high neck. She had thigh-high blue boots and a half-skirt that wrapped around the back of her body and draped to the floor. The skirt looked like peacock feathers, matching the brooch pinned at the hollow of her chest, and her mask was the same blue as her boots and mimicked feathers on the sides. As if to finish it all off, her hair had been pulled back in a neat french braid.

She twisted around, looking at her outfit. “This is . . . really fancy. I’m supposed to fight in this?”

“It looks great.” Adrien smiled. “You’ll get used to it.”

Marinette looked at him, then smiled. “I’ll need a name.” She paused for a moment. “Pavo,” she declared, putting her hands on her hips. “That’s fitting, right?”

“I love it.” Adrien looked her over once more. “And, your fans?”

Instinctually, Pavo reached to the small of her back where her baton used to rest. She paused when she grabbed air. “Oh. Right.” She reached both arms over her shoulders and onto her back, grabbing her fans from off of her shoulderblades. With a flick, the fans opened, revealing a simple feather pattern matching her brooch. “Got ‘em.”

“Then we’re ready to go.” Adrien glanced over to Tikki, who was watching them patiently. “Transformmez-moi!”

Side by side with his partner, Coccinelle led the way out of Marinette’s room. He went slow at first so Pavo could get used to her new suit, but she soon overtook him, soaring through the air between the rooftops. Flying.

He used his yoyo to catch up, swinging through the streets. Before they got close, Pavo suddenly stopped. She glanced back at Coccinelle as he finally reached her.

“Are you okay?” he asked, setting his yoyo on his hip.

“I can’t do it,” Pavo said softly, eyes wide in fear. “I’ve never even transformed before. How could I have been so stupid? I don’t know what I can do. I don’t know how to do this.”

“Hey, we’ll make it work.” Coccinelle smiled. “At least you’ll give Papillon a shock and maybe slow him down. Besides, you’re still Chat, even if you have a different outfit.”

“Okay.” Pavo nodded, but she still seemed unsure. She looked back out at the city, towards the quickly-spreading fire. “There’s no way the firefighters are going to be able to stop this. It’s out of control.”

Coccinelle grabbed his yoyo again, preparing himself. “We’ll take care of it. The Miraculous Cure will repair everything.” He took a deep breath. “Are you ready?”

Pavo was staring at the cloud of smoke rising by the Eiffel Tower. Her fans were resting on her back, and she showed no inclination of grabbing them. She glanced at Coccinelle. “I’m scared.”

Coccinelle took a step closer to her. “Me too. But we need to stop it before someone gets hurt.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Remember, the akuma can’t hurt you.”

Pavo nodded without much confidence, grabbing her fans. “Okay. Let’s go.”

They ran across the rooftops, slowing as soon as they could see the damage. The akuma wasn’t by the Eiffel Tower, but it had left substantial damage. Walls were smashed, cars were overturned, and there were several fires started and spreading quickly.

“We need to stop it now,” Pavo said, glancing at her partner. “This is horrible.”

“We will. Once we actually find the akuma.” Coccinelle glanced around, noticing a path in the destruction the akuma must have walked. “This way.”

He led the way across streets and over rooftops, and soon they could see the akuma. He was shrouded in a long, hooded black cape, and when he moved Coccinelle caught glimpses of red clothing underneath. His face was shadowed, but the lower edge of a black mask was still visible. He shot fire from his bare hands, lighting up a car without a second thought.

“Do you know what might be the akumatized object?” Pavo asked. “If we have a target, then maybe we can finish him off faster.”

Coccinelle shook his head. “I have no idea. He’s not using any weapons to make the fire. See, it’s coming out of his hands.”

“Should we try to get the cape, then? Even if that’s not akumatized, it would make it easier to spot something.” She paused, smiling. “No pun intended.”

Coccinelle didn’t like going in with such uncertainty, not with how angry his father was, but they didn’t have another choice. “Okay. Let’s get the cape.”

Together, they jumped down into the street, catching the akuma’s attention as they landed. The purple butterfly appeared over his face almost immediately after, and it didn’t last long. The akuma turned his attention to Pavo.

“You have something that isn’t yours,” he sneered. “I am Pyro, and you are not going to leave with that Miraculous!”

Pavo grabbed her fans, bracing herself to fight. There was a moment of stillness. The noise from the city seemed to die for just a breath as they stood stood, and then the fight began. Pyro shot flames, but Pavo brought her fans together to form a large shield and blocked the onslaught. She couldn’t fight with them like that, and pulled them apart after to have a weapon once more. Coccinelle ran into the battle, but before he could do anything, Pyro attacked Pavo again. This time, she was too slow. The flames engulfed her and threw her backwards, slamming her into a building. She fell to the ground and didn’t move.

Coccinelle felt the blood drain from his face. He ran towards her, ever aware of the akuma getting closer. He knelt beside her and noticed the fire hadn’t done any damage. There were no burns, no marks, nothing, not on her or her suit.

Pavo lifted her head. “It didn’t hurt,” she said softly, eyes wide. Coccinelle helped her to her feet, and she held her fans, ready to fight. “I’m okay.” She looked back to the akuma, walking towards him. “You can’t hurt me. How are you going to win if I keep getting back up?”

“You still have a weakness,” the akuma said, laughing. He shot flames at Coccinelle, and the hero dove to the ground, feeling the intense heat on his back. Pavo stepped in front of him, shield in front of her.

“Stay behind me,” she said confidently, putting herself directly in the akuma’s path. “I’ll block him. That’s my job.”

Coccinelle didn’t want to waste time arguing. He stood, yoyo in hand and ready for the next attack.

Slowly, they got closer to the akuma. Pavo managed to block his attacks, and while he recovered, Coccinelle used his yoyo to wear him down. It was not efficient, but they didn’t have the chance to think of a better plan. When, finally, he was able to pull the cape off of the akuma, he tore it in half as fast as he could. No butterfly.

Now, they could see the akuma in full. He had an elaborate red suit with black detailing mimicking flames. His mask and boots were black as well. Still, Coccinelle didn’t know what might be the akumatized object.

“Did you think it would be that easy to stop me?” Pyro laughed, holding up his hands as he prepared to fight. “Frankly, that’s embarrassing. You won’t win.”

Coccinelle’s mind was racing, running through options. What next? What did they try to take? How did they continue to fight? How did they stop him? Nothing stood out as the akumatized object and they couldn’t keep dodging his attacks. He decided to try his Lucky Charm.

“Cover for me for a few seconds,” Coccinelle told his partner before swinging away from the akuma. Pavo didn’t hesitate, jumping into the fight head on. She had given up on her fans, ducking and dodging fire as she threw punches.

Once he was secure on a nearby rooftop, he threw up his yoyo, shouting, “Lucky Charm!” He caught a heavy blanket, patterned with red and black polkadots, but he immediately recognized it as a fire blanket. “Thank you, Tikki,” he said softly, tucking the blanket under his arm as he threw out his yoyo again and returned to the battle.

The akuma saw him coming, but not soon enough. Coccinelle grabbed the blanket as he landed, holding it out as the akuma turned his focus to the returned hero. Coccinelle dove forward, wrapping the blanket around the akuma’s hands and knocking him to the ground. He struggled to keep the akuma down and felt heat coming through the blanket. It wouldn’t hold long. Now up close, he studied the akuma. Still, nothing seemed to be the akumatized object, but they had to try anything.

“The mask!” Coccinelle shouted to Pavo, and the akuma’s face distorted in anger. That was the one. Pavo tore the mask off of Pyro’s face, tearing it in half. Coccinelle wasted no time in catching the butterfly, but didn’t purify it just yet. Pavo still had the akuma on the ground and was holding his collar, pulling him close to her face.

“Papillon, I know you’re listening,” she said in a low voice, angrier than Coccinelle had ever seen his friend. “Come out and talk to us.”

The purple butterfly appeared over the akuma’s eyes, and he spoke in a monotone, blank voice. “You’re a thief. Do you know who that Miraculous belongs to?”

“If you think you’re going to get it back from me, you’re insane,” Pavo growled. “You’ll never get this Miraculous.”

“I will, because you can’t stop me.” The akuma made an attempt at a smile, his eyes blank and his lips curling up. “You’ll never find me.”

“I don’t need to. You’re going to come to us.” Pavo glanced back at Coccinelle, who nodded. He didn’t know what she was about to do, but they had to try anything. “Stop hiding, Papillon. Face us and fight.”

Coccinelle panicked. Fight Papillon, head on? The akuma was silent for several seconds, and Coccinelle didn’t know if he wanted Papillon to agree. It would be dangerous and terrifying, but they could end it all so quickly. Finally, he spoke. “Why would I even consider that offer?”

“It gives us both a chance at what we want.” Pavo pulled the akuma closer. “And if you don’t do this now, I will find you and out you to the whole world, and you will not like the outcome.”

“That’s quite a big threat. Are you sure you can come through?” The akuma paused, as if Papillon was deliberating. “In two days, I’ll be out. If you don’t find me within half an hour, I’ll assume you have rescinded your offer. Mind, we will not continue as usual. I will be upset by such ungracious children. Should you show up, you will lose your Miraculouses, and you’ll have no one to blame but yourselves.” The purple butterfly disappeared, and the akuma blinked up at Pavo, momentarily dazed. Coccinelle didn’t wait to purify the butterfly in his yoyo, then grabbed the fire blanket off of the akuma’s hands to use the Miraculous cure.

The ladybugs did their work, restoring the city and the victim. Coccinelle and Pavo brought the victim to the paramedics, spoke to them briefly, and then made their escape. Coccinelle realized his earrings were beeping but couldn’t manage focus on that.

They escaped to the rooftops, and once they were a decent distance away, Coccinelle stopped. Pavo stood next to him, looking as terrified as he felt.

“We’re going to fight Papillon,” she whispered.

“We’re going to fight my father.” Coccinelle looked around the city. It was time to end the terror, but, still, he didn’t want to do it this way. They were going to get themselves killed. “What if we lose?”

“We have to try.” Pavo glanced at Coccinelle as his earrings beeped again. “You need to get inside. Let’s go.”

They went back to her home, slipping in through the skylight and detransforming on her bed. They sat in silence for a few moments with their kwamis before Duusuu finally spoke up.

“Well, dear, you’ve saved all of us quite a bit of time.” She paused, looking at the heroes and then at Tikki. “Now we need to prepare.”

“You two can defeat him,” Tikki said confidently. “And, Marinette, we will rescue Plagg.”

Marinette nodded, sullen. “I don’t know why I said that to him. It was stupid.”

“It was genius,” Coccinelle argued. “We would have never met Papillon in the open otherwise. We can end this.” He glanced at his kwami. “Right?”

“Right.” Tikki smiled. “In this moment, we all need rest.” She and Duusuu left the two heroes alone.

Adrien looked at Marinette. She was still so clearly exhausted. She sat slouched, defeated. He put an arm over her shoulders. “It’ll all be over soon.”

Marinette nodded. “Two days.”

“Two days.” Adrien watched Marinette as she laid down next to him, relaxing on the pillows.

“You really think this was a good thing?” she asked.

“I do. Get some sleep now, okay? We’ll figure it out tomorrow.” Adrien smiled, and Marinette shut her eyes.

He wasn’t sure how this fight would turn out, but he knew he would do whatever it took to stop his father from ruining any more lives.


	7. Curtain Close

Tuesday wouldn't come fast enough. Adrien woke up Monday morning on Marinette's chaise earlier than he ever would have wanted to on any other day. It was still dark outside, and Marinette was still sleeping in her bed. Duusuu and Tikki were asleep together on the desk. Adrien sighed, sitting up and grabbing his phone. It was only three.

He stood and stretched. He knew he wouldn't fall asleep again any time soon, so he quietly made his way down into the apartment. In the kitchen, he looked for something to eat, and decided on a bowl of cereal. While he was eating, he checked his messages. Countless emails, as always, including his schedule for the week from Nathalie. Normally when he ran away, Gabriel cancelled his events. He was still completely booked, including a photo shoot after school that day. Adrien knew he should go. He had to act normal. No one else could know that he was worried about his father. He didn't want to see Gabriel, but he figured his father couldn't do much in public with professionals around.

Adrien finished his cereal quickly, cleaning up his dishes and sitting on the couch. He had two more missed calls from Gabriel, and this time, his father had finally left a voicemail. He knew better than to listen to it when he was tired and alone and could easily overthink it, but he listened anyway.

"Adrien," Gabriel began slowly, clearly thinking his words out very carefully, "I need you to come home. Please. This city is a dangerous place. I know you took the Miraculous and gave it to someone else. People will hurt you to take it. You don't understand what you have done. Please, just come home. We can sort this out."

Adrien set his phone down. No way was he going to be alone anywhere with his father. He was terrified. And if he really did believe Adrien gave the Miraculous away, then Marinette was right to worry he'd give it to her. He hoped the distraction of the impeding face-to-face fight would keep him off of their trail.

He heard footsteps and turned around to see Marinette coming down the stairs. She looked tired and sick and worried and Adrien couldn't blame her.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Adrien shook his head. "No. There's too much to think about."

"Me, too." Marinette sat down next to him. "Can I ask you a kind of invasive question?"

"Sure," Adrien said with a shrug.

Marinette paused. "This might seem kind of rude. I'm not sure how to phrase it. But . . . do you believe Gabriel can bring your mother back?"

"What?" Adrien glanced at her. She had her hands folded in her lap, and she was slouched into herself. She was so clearly exhausted.

"I mean, I know your father said he's doing all this because he knows where she is. But, maybe he's lying." Marinette looked at him. "I don't know, really. I do know that your Miraculous is the only thing standing between him and whatever he wants. I wouldn't put it past him to lie."

"I haven't really thought much about it," Adrien admitted. "We had a funeral. I thought he gave up, and I did, too. It sounds too good to be true." He sighed. "Of course, I want it to be real. I miss her so much. But it's been years since she disappeared, and I don't think I ever really thought she'd come back."

Marinette laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. This must be so hard."

"For you, too. We'll get Plagg back and fix you right up, and this time I'll be there every step of the way." Adrien smiled. "I should've tried harder before to help you."

"You were trying. I just pushed harder."

They were quiet for several minutes. There wasn't much to talk about that wasn't terrifying or horribly sad and Adrien felt like saying them out loud made them too real.

"We should try to get some sleep," Marinette said, sitting up again. "You have to go to school tomorrow."

"Are you going to stay home again?" Adrien glanced at her. "I don't want to push you into going, but you need to come back, Mari. Your life is still moving on without you."

"I know. I just . . . it's so hard to do anything. It's hard to eat and shower and do my homework as it is. I don't think I can do it." Marinette dropped her chin into her hands. "And I'm so scared, all the time. How are we supposed to pretend everything's normal?"

Adrien didn't have an answer. Instead, he stood up and held out a hand to help her to her feet. "You're right about sleeping. We're going to need our rest if we want to defeat Papillon."

Marinette took his hand and stood. "Yeah. Let's go upstairs."

She led the way back up to her room, pausing as they came through the trapdoor. "Did you want to take my bed?" she whispered. "I know the chaise isn't that comfortable."

"I'm okay. You need it more than me. Besides, I don't want to wake you up when I have to go to school." Adrien sat down on the chaise, making his decision.

Marinette paused, glancing up at her bed. "I don't think I can sleep. My mind is running so fast."

"I know." Adrien had felt the same way recently, too. "I could come sit with you?"

Marinette nodded. They went up to the loft, sitting facing each other on the bed.

"Do you think we can beat him?" Marinette asked, her gaze aimed down at her hands.

"I think we have a chance." Adrien paused for a moment to think. "I have a photoshoot after school. I think I'm going to go. Maybe I can throw him off a bit, distract him with something."

"With what?" Marinette looked up at him, an eyebrow raised.

"I don't know. Anything." Adrien sighed. "Like- maybe I tell him I'm staying at a hotel so he stops coming here."

"He won't believe you."

"Yeah." Adrien shook his head. "Maybe I tell him I got ahold of Coccinelle and gave myself, him, the Miraculous."

"Would he believe that?" Marinette was less sure this time.

"There's ways to get ahold of us, right?" Adrien paused. "Didn't Alya in our class start a blog about the heroes? It's super popular, I've heard."

"That's . . . that might work, actually." Marinette tucked hair behind her ear. "I just don't want to involve civilians in this, you know? What if he targets Alya?"

"I could pay her a visit before school," Adrien suggested.

"That wouldn't be suspicious." Marinette's face was flat. "Maybe you just stay vague. Say you gave it to Coccinelle and then refuse to talk to him. Be a teenager and rebel for once."

Adrien thought it through. He'd be somewhere public, with plenty of people from the fashion industry around. Gabriel wouldn't dare do anything there. "I think that would do it."

"Well, let's plan on that, then." Marinette laid back into her pillows. "I hate to leave you with him alone."

"You haven't been seen outside in days. He's going to know I'm staying here if you come along." Adrien tried to smile at her, but he wasn't sure it worked. "I promise to be safe. Trust me, I'm just as scared of him now as you are. He's a villain."

"Yeah. You're smart, though. I trust you." Marinette closed her eyes. "You should get some sleep before school starts. If you don't go, Gabriel will throw a fit."

"I will, once I know you're sleeping okay." Adrien leaned back against the wall, looking at his friend. She was already breathing easier. He knew she was more tired than she let on.

It only took a few minutes for her to fall asleep, and at that point Adrien climbed down from the loft. As he sat down on the chaise, he noticed Tikki was sitting up on the desk, awake.

"Hey, Tikki," he said softly. She flew over to him, resting on his shoulder.

"Are you going back to sleep?"

"I'm going to try." Adrien leaned back into the cushions, careful to make sure Tikki stayed on his shoulder. "There's a lot to think about."

Tikki didn't respond with her usual wisdom. Instead, she settled against his neck, a comforting presence nonetheless.

Adrien closed his eyes. He had a few more hours to sleep still, and he wanted to sleep as much as he could. He told his brain to quiet down and forced himself to relax. Eventually, he did fall asleep.

School was uneventful. He called Marinette briefly during lunch and spent it at a busy cafe, making sure Gabriel would never be able to catch him alone. He walked to his photoshoot after school, not trusting to be driven in case Gabriel tried to direct the car somewhere else. He arrived plenty early, but the site was alive with people. He was recognized quickly by the photographer.

"Adrien!" the man said, greeting him with a warm smile. "I didn't expect to see you so soon. Has your father arrived yet?"

"We came separately," Adrien said simply, forcing a grin onto his face. "Should I head to hair and makeup?"

"Yes, of course, just that way." The photographer pointed and Adrien was off. He was not going to risk bumping into his father sooner than he had to. As he was walking down the hall, his phone rang. His father. He answered against his best instincts.

"Adrien?" Gabriel said, almost sounding surprised. "Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm fine, Father. I'm at my shoot." Adrien turned a corner. Stylists were bustling about, setting things up and working with the other models who had arrived early.

"The shoot you skipped the fitting for," Gabriel said drily. "I sent your driver to your school. He said you never arrived."

"I walked. Excuse me if I don't entirely trust you right now." Adrien winced. He needed to keep his cool. "Well, I'm here now. The photographer is looking for you."

"Marcel?" Gabriel sighed. "Fine. Do not think you are leaving without talking to me."

"We're talking right now," Adrien said, trying to keep his tone light. "Besides, I have things to do."

"What is so important that you cannot talk to me, Adrien?"

"I could name some things, but I think the key idea here," Adrien lowered his voice so that the people he walked past wouldn't hear him, "is that you are a public threat."

"That is not appropriate." Gabriel was using the voice he always used when Adrien did something wrong. Low and menacing and terrifying. Somehow, in the moment, Adrien wasn't scared.

"I don't think you have the right to tell me what is and isn't appropriate anymore." Adrien was being ushered into a chair by a stylist. "I have to go. I'm assuming you'll show up eventually?"

"Yes, and we will be talking about this situation."

Adrien hung up. He knew they could have gone on forever that way, dancing around the issue, but he wasn't about to waste their time. He sat down and put his phone away, letting the stylist fuss over him and do her work. It didn't take long, and soon enough he was ushered out to the set. He meant to notice what he was going to be working with, he really did, but all he saw was Gabriel standing beside the photographer. His arms were crossed, his back was straight, and his eyes were boring into Adrien. Adrien shuddered; Papillon was staring him down.

Adrien focused on the photographer, listening to his directions, and then the shoot flew by. Several outfits, several other models in and out. When he wasn't on set, he was avoiding his father like the plague. Bathroom breaks, getting water, touch-ups from hair and makeup far more often than necessary. Anything to stay away.

When the shoot was finally over, Gabriel caught Adrien in hair and makeup. He was clearing off his face with a makeup wipe and didn't notice his father until it was too late. He glanced around. Plenty of other people were still there.

"Adrien," Gabriel said softly. "I'm happy to see you again. Where have you been?"

"A hotel." Adrien shrugged, turning back to the mirror to keep scrubbing off eyeshadow.

"I understand you are mad at me, but we need to talk. I am your father."

"Are you, though? Because you haven't been acting like it lately." Adrien turned to face Gabriel, imbibed with sudden bravery. "This is what it was like when Mom first disappeared. You're acting so weird and you're being just cruel. I'm not going to take it lying down this time." Satisfied his face was clear of makeup, Adrien threw the makeup wipe away, grabbing his bags. That's where Tikki was, and she was staying as close to him as possible.

"I'm sorry." Gabriel sighed. He didn't look sorry. He still had all of his composure, hands folded behind his back and head held high. "I didn't mean to make you feel unsafe. I would never hurt you, Adrien."

There were several documented akuma attacks that said otherwise. "Look, I know you just want the peacock brooch or whatever. I don't have it."

Gabriel's composure broke. He was visibly upset, expression darkening and arms crossing across his chest. "I know you took it, Adrien." Gabriel spoke so quiet Adrien almost couldn't hear him, his voice low and thick with anger. "It is not in the house. Your house, which you could use a reminder of. Somehow, some other little hero has it. I'm sure you've seen the news."

"I didn't give it to her, whoever it is." Adrien hadn't bothered lowering his voice before, but he did now. "I gave it to Coccinelle."

Gabriel started, taking a step back and losing all composure on his face. Adrien took the second he had to start walking, gripping his bag tightly. Gabriel caught up quickly, but now he couldn't stop his son. He couldn't cause a scene, and Adrien knew full well what his father's limits were.

"Elaborate, Adrien. You have been acting like this is a joke, but the Miraculouses are serious weapons. How did you find Coccinelle?" Gabriel put a hand on Adrien's shoulder, trying to stop him.

Adrien shoved the hand off, glaring back at his father. "Touch me and I'll scream. I'll fight you. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you as far away from me as I possibly can. You gave me everything I needed to make sure you never see me again." He started walking again, faster this time. He felt Tikki pressing against his leg through his bag. She was trying to calm him down. He knew he was being stupid, but he was terrified of what his father would be willing to do.

Gabriel caught up to him again. "Adrien, it is imperative you tell me how you got ahold of Coccinelle. I will stop everything once I have his earrings."

"That doesn't mean you never did it. You hurt people. You take control of their thoughts, you make them angry and hurt, and you do it without remorse. I'm ashamed to be associated with you." Adrien stopped walking, turning and facing his father with squared shoulders. "I gave Coccinelle that brooch because someone needs to stop you. You're a horrible, horrible person and I hope he destroys you." Adrien left his father behind, walking away for the last time. Gabriel didn't follow.

He walked back to Marinette's house, trying to calm himself down. He was angry, but mostly just scared; scared of what Gabriel would do to Adrien and what Papillon would do to Coccinelle.

He walked into the house through the bakery. He could say he stopped by for a snack and keep his father off of his trail. Sabine waved as he came in and he smiled in return, pretending everything was fine. As he walked up to the living room, he saw Marinette pacing in front of the TV.

"Adrien," she breathed, rushing over to embrace him. "I was so worried. I thought you would be home sooner and I couldn't stop thinking Gabriel had done something to you."

"I'm fine. I told him off." Adrien hugged Marinette close. "I think he believed me. He was definitely upset about it."

Marinette sighed into his shoulder. “We can’t live like this.”

“We won’t. It’ll be over soon.” Adrien assured her.

Marinette pulled back. “But what if we lose? What if he gets your earrings?”

“I’ll turn him in. I’ll send in an anonymous tip to the police or I’ll go tell them myself. He won’t get away with what he’s done.”

Marinette didn’t seem very happy with his answer, but she didn’t say anything else.

The night passed slowly. They did their homework, but finished far too soon. They watched movies, ate dinner and dessert, played computer games, worked on Marinette’s sewing projects. Finally, they were able to sleep, but Adrien’s alarm went off too soon and school was no better.

The day dragged on. He went from class to boring class, trying to focus during lectures on the topic instead of the fact that Papillon could strike at any moment. He called Marinette to waste time during lunch, and she wasn’t faring much better cooped up in her home.

After school, Adrien joined her in her room. She was sitting on her chaise, sketching while Duusuu watched. They greeted him as he came up through the trapdoor, and then focused on the sketchbook again. Adrien checked the news on Marinette’s computer.

Papillon was waiting.

Adrien glanced at Marinette. “Mari? It’s time.”

She looked at him, frozen. “He’s here?” She set her sketchbook down and joined him, looking at the screen. Images of Papillon standing atop Notre Dame were filling the page, along with questions about why he was here and where the heroes were. Marinette’s eyes were locked on the computer screen, wide and petrified.

“This is it,” she said softly, glancing away from the computer and finally looking at Adrien. “We have half an hour to meet him.”

“We should go sooner rather than later,” Adrien suggested. “I don’t want him leaving before we get there.”

“Wait. Shouldn’t we see if there’s an akuma? I doubt he’d show up without backup.” Marinette looked back at the news footage. “Because if there is, you should definitely be focusing on the akuma.”

“What? No. I’m stopping my father.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Marinette admitted. “Your head won’t be on straight. Besides, Papillon won’t be able to hurt me much. That’s what Duusuu said. I’ll hold him off until you stop the akuma, and then we’ll take him down together.”

“If there’s an akuma.” Adrien glanced at Marinette, who nodded. “Okay. We’ll do that.” He looked at Tikki, waiting patiently on the chair. “Are you ready to finish this?”

Tikki nodded, flying up to him. “You can do it, Adrien. I know you can.”

He looked at Marinette for reassurance, and together they called, “Transformez-moi!”

Duusuu and Tikki got sucked into their Miraculouses. In a flash, the two heroes were ready to go. They jumped out of Marinette’s skylight, running and flying across rooftops. Papillon was waiting on top of one of the towers on Notre Dame. They stopped across the street, watching and waiting. He saw them as an akuma appeared next to him.

The akuma was reflecting the sun. Coccinelle realized that he was made of metal. He was wearing a construction worker’s uniform, complete with hard hat and bright vest, but his skin was silver and tough. They were in trouble.

“Are you ready?” he asked Pavo. She nodded, and they jumped across the street.

They landed several meters away from Papillon, who was holding a cane in front of him and leaning on it. “So, you arrived,” he said in a low voice. Coccinelle was painfully aware of how much he sounded like Gabriel. “I’m surprised,” Papillon continued. “I didn’t think you’d be brave enough.”

“You don’t scare us,” Pavo hissed. “Your time plaguing this city is over.”

“Yes, it is. Once I get the Miraculous I need, I will leave Paris alone.” Papillon pulled his cane apart, revealing a rapier. “The Cat and Ladybug Miraculouses together will grant the wielder a wish. All I want is for my wish to come true.” He held the rapier in front of him in traditional fencing stance. “And it will.”

At once, he and his akuma charged. Pavo ran at the villain, fans at the ready, while Coccinelle focused on the akuma. He was nervous. This akuma didn’t have any clear weapons, which meant it was going to be hand-to-hand combat. Coccinelle didn’t do so well with that.

He wanted to pay attention to Pavo and make sure she was okay, but he didn’t have time to send a glance her way. The akuma was violent. He attacked with a never-ending chain of punches and kicks aimed at Coccinelle, who could barely defend himself in time. Each blow he blocked still hurt, and the ones he couldn’t stop in time knocked him back. He was getting pushed towards the edge of the tower. Barely thinking, he used his yoyo to swing to the other tower, praying the akuma would follow and not attack Pavo. He did, jumping down to the lower roof and then climbing up to Coccinelle.

This gave him mere seconds to think. He glanced at Pavo. She was blocking Papillon’s attacks, but landing some of her own as well. She had a fury Coccinelle hadn’t seen before. Whatever it was, it was working in her favor. The akuma was nearing Coccinelle now; he needed a plan. Any plan. Despite how he knew better than to use his Lucky Charm so early, he threw his yoyo up and called for it. Just as the akuma was climbing over the edge of the rooftop, he caught a pair of handcuffs. Lost as to what they were supposed to be used for, he hung them on his belt and prepared himself to face the akuma.

The akuma charged; Coccinelle threw his yoyo in response, pushing him back. He spotted the spire of Notre Dame behind the akuma and suddenly his plan was clear. He ran away again, using his yoyo to swing to the very top of the spire. The akuma followed quickly behind. He didn’t have much time, but he only needed a few seconds. He put the handcuffs around one of the metal bars in the spire, and as the akuma was climbing, used his yoyo to grab one metal wrist. He yanked up. Taken by surprise, the akuma did little to fight back as he soared up the tower. Just as he reached Coccinelle, the hero strapped one wrist in the handcuffs. He tried to grab the other, but the akuma fought back. His earrings beeped; not enough time. He grabbed hold of the akuma’s other wrist, holding on to the spire with his other hand for dear life as he was almost thrown off. He grit his teeth and managed to secure the other hand in the handcuffs.

The akuma dangled, helpless. He still kicked and writhed and fought back but Coccinelle wasted no time trying to find the akumatized object. He grabbed the hard hat and broke it over his knee; nothing. As he was reaching for the vest, Pavo screamed. He froze, glancing at the tower. He couldn’t see well from so far away, but he could see enough. Papillon’s rapier was embedded in her thigh, the blade going all the way through. He watched in slow motion as she fell to the ground, blood dripping down her leg.

He screamed. He might have said something, but he was mostly aware that he was just screaming. His earrings beeped again. Three minutes to save Pavo, to stop his father. He tore the vest off of the akuma, and sure enough, the butterfly flew out. He grabbed it and purified it as fast as he could, then swung over to the other tower. Papillon was staring at him, yet to make an advance on Pavo. Her Miraculous was there for the taking, but he hadn’t moved.

“What are you waiting for?” Coccinelle growled, standing over Pavo. “Suddenly feel bad about hurting people?”

“You called her Mari,” Papillon said softly. “Mari. Marinette.” He glanced down. “It’s, there’s more than one Marinette in Paris, but . . .” He glanced back at Coccinelle. “Adrien?”

“You’re horrible,” Coccinelle spat. “A horrible father and a horrible person. You aren’t above murder, huh? You think you can kill her and make your wish and everything will be fine? Did you think I’d be fine with you murdering a superhero?”

“I didn’t mean to kill her. I never meant to kill anyone. I just wanted to distract you so I had a chance at your Miraculous.” Papillon shuddered, eyes on Pavo again. “The Miraculous Cure will heal her. Hurry.”

Coccinelle’s earrings beeped. Too little time. His heart racing, he flew back to where he’d left the akuma. He undid the handcuffs, pulling the akuma over to the tower with him. Papillon still hadn’t moved.

“Take the blade out,” Coccinelle demanded. “She can’t heal if you’re rapier is still in her leg.”

Robotic, Papillon obliged. Pavo screamed again as he pulled the blade out, tears streaming down her face. Coccinelle knelt beside her, placing one hand on her face.

“I’m so sorry. I’ll fix it.” He threw the handcuffs in the air, shouting, “Miraculous Ladybug!”

The swarm of ladybugs didn’t have much to fix this time around. The fight had been short. The akuma was restored back into a man, and then they surrounded Pavo. When they left, the blood was gone and her leg was whole again. Coccinelle pulled her into his arms. She was shaking fiercely and lay limp against him, crying still.

“I’m sorry, Adrien,” Papillon said softly. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“You have one day to turn yourself in. After that, I will call the police,” Coccinelle growled, glaring at his father. “Get away from me, and bring that man to the paramedics. Thanks to you, he’s traumatized.”

Coccinelle didn’t wait to see if Papillon did as he asked. His earrings beeped their one-minute warning. He scooped Pavo up in one arm and used his yoyo with the other. As fast as he could, he made his way back to Marinette’s house. He didn’t care if anyone followed him. He didn’t care if anyone figured out who he was. His entire body was consumed with the fact that his best friend had gotten hurt and he hadn’t been there to stop it.

He released his transformation as soon as he was through Marinette’s skylight, dropping down onto her bed and setting her down carefully. She detransformed as well, and Duusuu rushed over to an exhausted Tikki. The kwamis left their chosen, and Adrien looked at Marinette.

“I’m sorry,” he choked out. “I should have been there. I shouldn’t have left you alone. I’m so sorry, Mari.”

“It’s not your fault,” she said softly, sitting up carefully. “It was my idea. I thought he couldn’t hurt me, but by the time I realized he could you were gone and I was just trying to stop him from getting to you.”

“Your job isn’t to protect me. What was I going to do if I couldn’t save you?” Adrien dropped his head into his hands, exhausted.

“I didn’t think it would go that far. I never thought he’d actually do something so serious.” Marinette leaned forward so her head was on his shoulder. “But it’s over now, right?”

“I gave him a day. After that, if he hasn’t done anything, I’m calling the police.”

“You don’t have any evidence,” Marinette reminded him. “Didn’t he tell you who he was when he was in your room? I thought you didn’t have cameras.”

“I don’t. But the police have never had any leads on Papillon’s identity. They won’t pass this up.” Adrien sighed. “Besides, I’m mostly just hoping he’ll do it himself. He won’t win.”

They were quiet for a while, leaning against each other and trying to relax. “He was wearing my ring,” Marinette said quietly. “But, I don’t think he could get Plagg to come out. It looked like it was active, but he wasn’t transformed. That means Plagg is still safe, right?”

Adrien felt a pang in his heart. He’d forgotten about the ring. He’d been too worried about defeating his father. “I think so. We’ll get him back, Mari. One way or another, I will get your ring back.”

“Thank you.” Slowly, she hugged him. “For everything. I don’t know where I’d be without you.”

“You’re my best friend. I’d do everything for you.” Adrien gave her a squeeze. “I love you more than anything.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered.

Abruptly, Adrien heard two sets of footsteps rushing up the stairs. Tom pushed open the trapdoor, climbing into the room. “Marinette? Adrien? Are you okay?”

“We saw everything on the news,” Sabine said as she followed close behind her husband. “Marinette, sweetheart, are you alright? Adrien?”

Adrien glanced at Marinette for a moment, then nodded. He started down from the loft. “We’re okay. The cure worked on everything.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Sabine said, pulling him in for a hug. Marinette wasn’t far behind him, and Tom held her so tightly he almost picked her up.

“Are you okay? Your leg- we couldn’t see everything, you were too far away, but are you okay?” he asked, letting Marinette back up and putting his hands on her shoulders.

“I’m okay, Papa, really. The cure healed it. I promise I’m okay.” Marinette smiled.

Sabine let Adrien go, holding his hand tightly. “And Papillon? He got away?”

Adrien debated not telling the truth yet. He didn’t really want to confront it. But Marinette’s parents had put so much faith into them, had let them continue on with this crazy plan, and they deserved to hear it from Adrien.

“Kind of.” Adrien took a deep breath, locking eyes with Marinette. “Papillon is my father.”

“Gabriel?” Tom asked, as if Adrien had some other secret father he had yet to learn about. “He’s Papillon?”

“He told me he was. He wanted me to use the Peacock Miraculous to help him defeat Coccinelle. Myself. But he didn’t know I was Coccinelle.” Adrien sighed. “He figured out who we are. I said Mari’s name, and he figured it out. But I don’t think he’s going to attack anymore. I told him to turn himself in, or I would.”

“Oh, poor child,” Sabine tutted, pulling Adrien in for another hug. “You are staying with us for now, understand? I will not let you go back into that home.”

“Thanks, Sabine.” Adrien smiled, looking at Tom. He smiled back, nudging Marinette towards him.

Sabine pulled back, patting Adrien’s cheek.

The doorbell rang, from somewhere far away. Sabine and Tom excused themselves and left the two heroes alone.

Marinette looked at Adrien, arms wrapped around her middle. “Do you really think it’s over?”

“Yes. I know my father well enough. He would never have done any of this if he’d known I was Coccinelle.” Adrien smiled. “He’ll turn himself in.”

“Marinette?” Tom called from downstairs, sounding somewhat wary. “You should come see this.”

Marinette rushed out of her room, and Adrien scooped their kwamis into his pocket before following close behind. Tom and Sabine were standing in the kitchen. Tom was holding an open envelope, and they were both staring inside.

“What is it? Is everything okay?” Marinette walked over to them, glancing at the envelope.

“Someone left this at the door. We didn’t see who. It’s not addressed to anyone, but . . .” Tom handed the envelope to his daughter.

Marinette looked inside and gasped. “My ring!” She pulled out the Miraculous, looking at it in amazement. She glanced back at Adrien. “He gave up.”

“We won,” Adrien agreed. “You got Plagg back.”

“I got Plagg back,” Marinette repeated in disbelief. “Can I- is it safe to bring him out?”

Tikki popped her head out of Adrien’s pocket, nodding. “You can’t transform yet, but you can talk to him. He’s excited to see you again.” She smiled.

Marinette stared at the ring for a few more seconds before sliding it onto her finger. With a flash of green light, Plagg appeared.

“Plagg,” Marinette breathed, tears in her eyes. She held out a hand for him, and he flew over to sit on it.

“Hey, kid. Glad you finally came to your senses.” He patted her palm and she laughed.

“Are you okay? Did Papillon hurt you?” Marinette held him closer, inspecting him.

“I’m fine. He never got me out of the ring.” Plagg pushed her poking hand away. “I can handle myself when I need to.” He looked over Marinette’s shoulder and saw Tikki.

Adrien’s kwami shouted out, flying over to her friend and knocking him out of Marinette’s hand with a huge hug. “You dumb cat. I was worried about you.”

“I know. Jeez, you need to learn to relax.” Plagg pushed Tikki off of him, but he was smiling. He looked around, finally orienting himself with everyone else there. “Hi, parents,” he said to Tom and Sabine. “Good to see you again.” He glanced at Adrien next. “Ah, Coccinelle. Nice to meet you, again, I suppose.”

“I don’t get a hello?” Duusuu came out of Adrien’s pocket, playfully setting her hands on her hips.

“You stole my chosen,” Plagg rebutted, sticking out his tongue.

Adrien glanced at Sabine and Tom, who were watching the exchange in awe and confusion. He smiled. “We’re glad you’re back, Plagg,” he said, looking at Marinette. “We did it.”

Marinette nodded, reaching out to hold his hand. “We won.”

“There was one more thing,” Sabine said, holding out a folded piece of paper. “It’s for you, Adrien.”

He took it and unfolded it. He recognized his father’s handwriting instantly.

“What does it say?” Marinette asked, glancing at the letter.

“It’s an apology.” Adrien skimmed through the page. “He’s turning himself in, right now. He’s apologizing for hurting me. And lying.” He met Marinette’s eyes. “My mom isn’t alive. He wanted to bring her back. He thought he could.”

Marinette frowned, squeezing his hand. “I’m sorry. That’s horrible news.”

Adrien blinked away tears, lost for words. He’d never really believed he’d see his mom again, but a part of him always hoped she was still alive. Gone, but alive.

Tikki flew to his shoulder, leaning against his cheek. Marinette hugged him, and the other kwamis followed suit. Tom and Sabine finished the hug, surrounding Adrien in warmth and love and everything he’d ever wanted.

His life wasn’t perfect, but he could get used to this.


End file.
